Generation Gap
by Jelly Wombat
Summary: Formerly Hopes and Dreams. As Rose Blossom grows up, she takes interest in stories of Dream Valley. The community sees the stories as fantasy, so she must seek help from the other social outcasts to unravel one of Ponyland's best kept secrets.
1. Elaborate Fantasy

(A/N: Disclaimer - If I owned My Little Pony, they would come in cooler colors, glow in the dark, and they would, like, all be flutter ponies. So, yeah. I don't.)

* * *

"Miss Pie? Please, I need to speak with..." Rose Blossom stopped and sighed as the mare spotted her and ducked into the Cotton Candy Cafe. She really had needed someone to speak with this time, but she was sure she'd scared away the town's councilmare after the first couple of political discussions. After all, poor Pinkie was great with public relations, but frankly didn't know how to deal with issues that required more...intelligence. 

The filly walked into the cafe and headed straight up to the counter. "Cotton Candy?" When Candy turned around in at the sound of her name, Rose saw her eyes widen as she whipped back around and pretended to be busy mixing a milkshake. A waitress snatched it away in mild irritation and handed it to a waiting customer, leaving Candy no choice but to turn to face the filly again.

"Uh...oh hi, kiddo. Didn't see ya there..."

Rose Blossom flicked her ears back briefly, but tried not to make her irritation at the nickname clear. There weren't nearly as many ponies in her age grouping, so although she was now in her mind-teens, she still had to deal with being one of the babies of the town. "Mm-hmm", she said off-handedly at the greeting. "Pinkie came through here. Did you see which way she went?"

Cotton Candy played with a strand of blue hair from her forelock. "Um...Pinkie? Pinkie _Pie_?"

"There aren't any other Pinkies in town."

"Right. Well...uh... No, I really didn't see her come through."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "I saw her come in here a few seconds ago."

"I...I've been really busy with customers for a while...", Candy attempted apologetically. When Rose Blossom maintained same skeptic gaze, the mare added, "So, kiddo... Was there anything you needed? Something maybe..._I_ could help you with?" The manager of the cafe started twisting her apron in her hooves, clearly not wanting to be held captive by the filly any longer.

"I did want to talk to Pinkie..." Cotton Candy looked relieved, but Rose immediately took a seat at the counter and continued eagerly with, "But sure, why not?"

"This doesn't have to do with taxes being spent on candy cane production, does it? Because I'll have you know, it's a well-loved tradition, and it is nice to have steady income when I need to be going gift-shopping-"

"It's not that, Candy," Rose cut in with a twinge of guilt at her complaint at the last town council meeting. "I was just... See, I've been reading more into Dream Valley lately, and I have some new theories."

Shaking her head, the older mare said gently, "Oh honey, again?" She seemed even more uncomfortable, and bit her lip before continuing, "The town really isn't going to back you up on this one. It's...it's just a myth."

Frowning at Candy's condescending tone but remaining persistant, Rose pressed on, "There are so many books about it in the library-"

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Cotton Candy shook her head. "You need to get outside - take a ride in a hot air balloon. I just know Merriweather could teach you to use one. All the other fillies-"

"You're trying to change the subject." The filly pinned her ears back.

"No, that's not true. You just dwell on it too much!"

Her patience wearing thin, Rose's voice grew stronger and more urgent. "There are descriptions - of the geography, of the culture, of the residents-"

"And what about Friendship Gardens? An entirely different set of descriptions - surely that wouldn't make any sense, would it?"

"Different time periods!", the filly cried insistently. "There was plenty of time-"

"Oh, you don't really believe in both of them, do you?"

"There are accounts of both, extremely detailed-"

"There are also...very detailed fantasy stories, kiddo."

"'Fantasy stories'? How can you say that? I-if we could just send out a few ponies to explore the surrounding areas... I mean, these are our ancestors!" Rose leapt to her feet as Candy moved back a step.

"Whoa...easy, kiddo, don't snap at me. I'm only trying to look out for you," the mare said softly.

Rose blinked, startled at how worked up she'd let herself get. "Oh. Right. I-I'm sorry, Candy. I should...go find Pinkie." With that, she spun around and ran through the doorway, ponies staring confusedly after her as they side-stepped out of her way.

* * *

(A/N: This is my first fanfic, so reviews will be much appreciated. I obviously can't stop flames, but I don't think I've done anything controversialto merit one with a story like this anyway. I'd also like to know specifically if I've done something wrong, so if you want to tell me calmly why you hate it I'll be able to take it into consideration. Of course, nice reviews are always good for the ol' ego - either one, I guess, just so long as I know people are reading. 

I intend on updating soon, so please stick with this if you like it! I'll be writing for as long as there's any living soul that wants to read it, so I hope to hear from you all soon!

-Jelly

Note: Edited 9-6-07.)


	2. Official Chaos

(A/N: Disclaimer - if I owned rights to My Little Pony, I would come out with a Katrina Relief Pony to be a decent human being. See? I should totally own Hasbro.

This chapter is dedicated to WildTotodile, my official very first ever fanfic reviewer! Yay! But sorry, you'll have to wait and see. I do have stuff in mind, though - the story's in mind from here on out.)

* * *

Nearly all of the residents of Ponyville attended the official town meeting the following night. Of course, most ponies didn't like to get too involved in something like politics, so only a few citizens and the council members that were required to come(but were known to call in sick)were expected when there wasn't something fun like a dance being planned. 

However, there happens to be nothing more enjoyable to some ponies than a good chunk of gossip, and word around town was that Baby Blossom - the little filly that a few claimed to have met when there was a picnic that one time, or whentheyhelped decorate for the Friendship Ball -had caused quite a ruckus at the last one with her protest against the "Here Comes Christmas Candy Cane". Forsythia, Hot Air Balloon Fuel Manager and a member of the town council, claimed that Blossom had gone on about tax money and how ponies of other religions might object to the use of funding, although she herself celebrated Christmas and any pony that didn't had never seemed to mind. Of course, Rainbow Flash, another member of the town council that had apparently called in sick for that particular meeting, reported that Forsythia herself brought a brush and styling spray to meetings and spent the entire alotted hour styling her hair, and wouldn't be able to recount events accurately if a rabid bushwoolie bit her on the...er...rump.

Unfortunately for all that paid witness to the events, Forsythia had been one table away when this statement was made in the cafe, and countered that bushwoolies did not exist. Rainbow Flash insisted that she had already known and it was for the sake of exaggeration, and...well... They weren't acting too kindly to each other after that, and it was hard to get much more information.

* * *

When Rose stepped into Celebration Castle, all eyes were on her. She constantly reminded herself that she wasn't as much of a filly as they thought her to be anymore, but the experience was enough to make her feel very, very small. The only ponies that didn't seem to be staring at her as though she'd grown a pair of wings were two council members, who she noticed were sending each other icy glares from their seats on opposite ends of the stage. 

A few seconds after she made the observation Pinkie Pie jumped out onto a higher balcony, reared up, spread her forehooves wide, and cried with filly-like enthusiasm, "I'm here, ponies!" At this all the ponies, of course, broke into wild applause, and several gave loud cheers. "Ok, let the meeting officially begin!"

At this the crowd rather reluctantly quieted down, and Rose shuffled up to the front row with a heavy stack of papers, making her way slowly to a vacant seat. She ended up seated next to a mare and a little blue colt, who was staring at her with huge, unblinking eyes. Rose Blossom tried to ignore him and stared fixedly ahead, waiting for a pause in Pinkie's lecture.

"Now, ponies, these are times of great hardship. You see, the Cotton Candy Cafe is running low on sugar, and we don't get imports for another week or two! So, we're going to need to pool our resources, and start eating sweet pickles for out sweets instead, so that we can still get just as many cookies as we need to have baked! I'm also going to set up a team of soda-strainers, to try to find out a way to squeeze all the sugar out of our sweetened sodas..."

Pinkie droned on and Rose tapped a hoof on the side of her chair uneasily. She turned her head to find the foal still staring straight at her. When the colt knew he'd been caught, instead of appearing embarrassed, he kept the same facial expression as he whispered, "My mommy's friends were talking about you the other day. They said you were crazy."

Rose Blossom's mouth dropped open slightly and she stared back at the colt with eyes wide enough to match his. His mother was taking no notice as she listened intently to Pinkie and, taking the cue to continue, the blue foal elaborated with, "They said you think all these stories in fairy tale books aren't fantasy, and you think they're true, and they came to see you tonight 'cause they wanna see what you'll do 'cause you're crazy."

The mare on the other side of the colt, who Rose now recognized as Star Beam, suddenly took notice and whispered angrily to her colt, then went back to listening to Pinkie again. She glanced sideways at Rose, but didn't bother to apologize; she chose instead to pretend as though she wasn't there.

"...and thank you, Forsythia, for your research. We will have to also conserve Ponyville's air-heating resources. Now, we will move on to-"

"Miss Pie?" Rose leapt to her feet as quickly as she could and trotted forward to face the audience from just below the steps to the stage.

Pinkie seemed to shrink back despite being three floors higher than everyone else, and most of her face was blocked from view by the balcony railing. The tops of her eyes, however, were visible, and they looked even larger than usual. Her voice, which still sounded every bit as childish as Rose's, piped up with a more muffled quality, "Here, let me come down!" The small mare could be heard clip-clopping down the stairs winding through the castle, and scrambled through a doorway opening onto stage left. "Ok, now what'd ya need?" Her childish appearance and voice were already some of her best-known endearing qualities, but she had strong mannerisms to match, especially when she was forced to stray from pre-prepared speech. Her natural social skills had probably been what prompted her to come down to the stage with the others - it created a more personal, friendly feeling - but what little impressive air she'd had from looking down upon them all was now gone.

Staring at the pony with the most power in the entire town and somehow managing to feel slightly _less_ intimidated, Rose shook her head in an attempt to clear it, and gathered up her courage and notes and began to speak. "Fellow Ponyvillians, I am here to discuss an important part of our heritage that we have been neglecting for a good many years. You see, I have reason to believe that the legendary Dream Valley did in fact exist." From the crowd came several scandalized gasps, feigned mutterings of total shock, and even one or two enthusiastic whistles from anonymous members of the crowd that had grown particularly antsy from the boring discussions so far.

Rose did her best to ignore them all and pulled out some papers from the stack. "You see, in Citrus Sweetheart's travel journal, she mentioned finding 'a large field south of what could well be the Rainbow Forest, with the crumbling remains of pink brick covering a large area in the center. Remnants of a sticky, purple substance were found on the edges, and seemed to have been eating away gradually at the mortar. A small sample of said substance has been taken, and will be sent back to the lab for questioning.' This also matches Dream Valley historian Baby Wind Whistler's account of the Smooze attack that took place on Dream Castle when she was a toddler. She said that growing up she visited the site and saw that 'the edges of all the bricks seemed brittle and worn away, and upon closer inspection similar damage was done upon even middle bricks on higher parts of the castle. Smooze could still be seen in places, and had not been washed away fully by the rain . The castle was not treated thoroughly by utter flutter-'"

"'Utter flutter'?", Pinkie repeated, blinking in confusion.

Rose felt less confident now that she'd been interrupted, and said after a pause, "Well, yes - that was a special power, believed to be waves of magic sent out by accelerated movement of the enchanted wings of...um...flutter ponies." The last two words were said in a fast mumble, and a couple council members let out load groans. In her defense, the filly said a bit more loudly, "If Dream Valley existed, the flutter ponies would have too."

The entire room fell silent at this entirely new concept, but then Forsythia piped up, "Well I'm no historicalian, but didn't those ponies live in Flitter Valley?"

"It's _Flutter_ Valley! For Megan's sake, she shouldn't try to sound smart like that!", Rainbow Flash said to the pony next to her, but loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Forsythia's friend Blue Mist stood up in the audience and raised a hoof in the air. Without waiting to be acknowledged by the council, she said, "I object! That was uncalled for!"

Rainbow Flash now turned to glare at her. "This isn't a court room! Maybe if you came to meetings more often..."

A cry of agreement rose up amongst the few ponies that did show up regularly to town meetings. At this point several town gossips attempted to sneak out the door, but to everyone's inconvenience the only way out of the building was to cut through the middle of the stage and lower the drawbridge. Even this was not enough to stop a few of the less intelligent ones, and they began to recieve a verbal lashing from Rainbow Flash. Forsythia was looking for any excuse to openly disagree with the other mare, and began to defend the ponies just as loudly. Blue Mist hopped on stage to stand up for her friend as well as herself, and this triggered most of the other ponies present to crowd towards the stage and voice their own opinions, either concerning Dream Valley or the attendance issue.

Rose looked around in bewilderment at how quickly a town meeting had managed to break down into total and complete chaos in under a minute. Well, the gossips seemed to have gotten a nice story after all.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry to end it there. I've actually already begun the next chapter, oddly enough, but this seemed like a nice place for a chapter break. I can also keep it coming a bit more steadily with this chapter length.

Note: Edited 9-6-07; finally fixed poor Forsythia's name.)


	3. Out of the Castle

The filly was getting shoved in all directions on the crowded stage, and desperately looked around for a way to escape from the building unnoticed. Of course, she was only harshly reminded that the exit was the one over the drawbridge - the one she would have to cross the stage to get to. Since all of the arguments were taking place there, she didn't think she'd be able to walk through without getting caught up in something. As it was, it was all she could do to work her way to the edge of the crowd. The bickering was centered near the doorway, so she instead was moving towards the edge near the audience's side of the large room. Looking down into the audience again, she saw that the only ponies still there that weren't trying to leap headfirst into the commotion were Starbeam and her foal. Rose still resented how she had been treated earlier, but felt a considerable amount of pity at the mother's bewildered expression. The mare seemed to be doing all she could to keep the colt from getting shoved around by the crowd, and Rose was all too aware that she had in part triggered the whole disaster.

At this point Rose Blossom was able to squeeze between two ponies and throw herself from the stage, and landed very near Starbeam. She felt extremely awkward after what had happened between them earlier and was picking herself up when the blue mare took a step closer and said in a motherly lecturing tone, "You shouldn't have gotten yourself in the middle of that, dear. These meetings are honestly no place for a filly like yourself."

A bit surprised that the mare was talking to her, Rose blinked up at her. "E-excuse me?"

"Look - Rose Blossom, isn't it?" Rose nodded numbly in response. "I used to work here, and I think I can get us out of here without having to fuss with all that." Star gestured casually towards the crowd, but a hint of fear showed in her eyes when she glanced in that direction. Her tone lowered slightly and she seemed to be talking to herself as she muttered, "I know I won't want to take my foal through there." Regaining her business-like tone, she finished with, "So if you're interested, you can go right ahead and follow us. I believe there's a way through the kitchen." With that she started off at a brisk trot, only holding herself back enough to be able to usher her foal along. Rose followed obediently.

When the small group made it to the kitchen door, Starbeam was practically pushing them inside. When she closed the door after them, the sounds from the main room were considerably muffled. Starbeam had paced the room a bit, and came to a stop in the middle again. "Uh oh...", the mare said softly.

The blue colt hopped up towards her. "What?"

"I...guess I don't know the castle like I used to."

Rose pointed at the sink. "There's a window over the sink over there. We're only on the first floor - we can leave through there, right?"

Starbeam looked thoughtful for a moment before saying slowly, "Hm...I think...no, it's no good."

"Huh? Why?" The filly looked in the direction of the window in confusion.

"You know those decorative flowers Cherry Blossom wanted to put in last summer?"

"Yeah, but-"

"The official Head of Floral Decorations in the council got the final choice - Desert Rose, you know? Well, guess what kind of flower she chose?"

With Starbeam's prompting, Rose Blossom suddenly remembered the light pink roses lining the base of the castle. "Oh...thorns?"

The blue mare confirmed it with a nod. "Lots. And if I remember correctly, there's a bush right under this window." She gave a sigh and explained, "There used to be a door to a courtyard through here. There was a pond, and big shady trees for the summertime..." From her eyes, Rose imagined that the mare was sinking momentarily into a memory. Then she shook her head and said apologetically, "Anyway..."

However, she'd managed to capture Rose's curiosity. "What happened to it?"

"Well, the last straw was really when Cotton Candy stumbled into the pond - apparently, she can't swim, so the council decided it was time for a change." She gave a short laugh. "Boy, was I bitter after that - I stayed away from the Cafe for months! I feel guilty now. It wasn't Candy's fault, of course..."

Rose Blossom nodded, guessing that Starbeam was getting wrapped up in her memories again. She took a short glance around the rest of the room, then noticed that it was missing something rather important. "...Where did your foal go?"

"What? He-" The mare's eyes widened as she spotted the door, which had been opened a crack. "Oh no!", she cried in a frustrated tone, and hurried out the door. Not knowing what else to do, Rose ran after her.

The castle didn't seem to have quieted down any, and although someone seemed to have managed to get the drawbridge open in the middle of it all, no one seemed to be too anxious to leave. This probably had something to do with the fact that all of the town's most annoying busybodies had showed up, and this could well be considered the most exciting thing to happen in Ponyville since Minty had "accidentally" vandalized the town's Christmas Tree for the second time.

Starbeam had, by now, made it all the way across the room, and was weaving between ponies calling out, "Lou? Lou!"

Just as Rose was trying to step between two annoyed mares(she wasn't as pushy as Starbeam, and was having far more trouble), she felt a tap on the hoof. She looked down to see "Lou" chomping on a chocolate chip cookie. "Hey, there you are! ...What were you doing?"

"We weren't leaving, so I got bored. They always have food at these meetings." With that the colt took another large bite of the cookie.

Rose stared at him, amazed at how little he seemed to care about the crowd now, but before she could make up her mind to comment on it to him, Starbeam was coming through the crowd toward them. "Oh, Lou! There you are! What were you-" Instead of voicing the entire question as Rose had, she caught sight of the cookie in his little hoof and her voice dropped into a somewhat irked, "Oh." With a small sigh, she turned to Rose, rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, at least we found him. Come on - let's get out of here. I think the crowd's starting to thin out."

With that she began to weave through the ponies once more, Lou following, cookie in hoof. Rose fell in line behind him, still not quite sure that the plan would work. They made it through without too much trouble, but then they reached the ponies responsible for the whole thing - Rainbow Flash and Forsythia were still arguing, although the criticisms had strayed far from what had set them off, and now other ponies had joined in.

"And after you said you couldn't come to my 8th birthday party because you were sick, Blue Mist told me she saw you at the salon on her way there!"

"I had to get some bubblegum out of my hair! You try having a 6-foot mane that drags all over the ground wherever you-" Rainbow Flash fell silent when she spotted Rose trying to sneak past. "Hey, you're the Dream Valley filly, right? Where were you? We were trying to have a...debate."

Rose backed away, but Forsythia stepped past Rainbow Flash and even closer to her, adding, "Yeah, I'm right about _Flitter _Valley, right?"

The filly backed away further, but bumped into another pony and was forced to stay put. "Um... Maybe we can meet in the Cafe or something some other time. It's uh...it's my bedtime...don't we have a curfew in town for ponies my age?"

"Ah, no one pays attention to that law anyway. Go ahead and talk!", Pinkie piped up, coming out of the crowd behind her.

"R-really, I-"

Just then Starbeam came trotting back from the area near the drawbridge, pushing ponies aside to come to stand next to Rose. "I was taking Rose home now - we'll talk next meeting, alright?"

Forsythia stepped forward once again, "Aw, Starbeam, but we need to know-"

"I'm taking her home", the mare repeated again. She laid her ears back and pushed Rose forward, but Forsythia was still in the way, staring at Star in disbelief. After a moment of staring her down, Star added in the same firm tone, "Move, 'Sythia. We're leaving now."

The young mare did as she was told and Starbeam took the lead again, nose held in the air as she made a point not to look at a single other pony in the hall. Her eyes still fixed ahead although she was speaking to Rose, she said in a raised voice to be heard over the crowd(which had gone up in volume after the little talk with Blue Mist), "I took Lou outside already - he's waiting for us."

Rose had been a bit concerned at first, since there was now a more steady stream of ponies that had decided to leave, but sure enough, the blue colt was standing next to a hedge on the other side of the drawbridge. He still seemed undisturbed by what had taken place, although called out something about wanting another cookie as they grew closer to him. Starbeam just kept walking and said, "Come on, Lou - we're leaving." Rose suspected that this would have been the only way to get him away from the building which he already knew had cookies waiting inside.

Picking up a trot to fall in step beside Starbeam, Rose finally decided she had a good chance to ask the question that had been stuck in her mind since earlier that evening. "You said you worked at the castle - what did you do?"

Star looked over at her oddly for a moment, and then was silent for a few seconds more. Finally, she said in an almost bored tone, "Oh...well, I thought you would have already heard somewhere - I used to be a member of the council."

* * *

(A/N: ...Hehe, whee! Reviews! Ok, well I took a bit of time cause I thought no one was reading...but I checked back and lo and behold, apparently at least a few people were. I'm not gonna be a brat and require a certain number of reviews before I update, but it really does add some encouragement. 

I also had a little thought the other day - there are lots of small parts and minor characters that I just choose based on what pony I like and feel like writing in. But if you want to mention a fav pony in a review, I'll write them in and you can see what I do with their character. (But LM, for the record, I've got big plans for Moondancer already.) I really hope at least some people out there are being amused by this - I'm having fun writing it!

- Jelly

Note: Edited 9-6-07. Fixed Forsythia's name and snuck in some foreshadowing, tralala.)


	4. Agent Waterfire

((A/N: Sorry, that last chapter didn't seem overly...thrilling to me - necessary though, I think. I think this one will be at least more entertaining - I liked writing it, anyway.))

* * *

Rose stopped and stared at Starbeam, who kept walking. After a few strides the mare looked over her shoulder. "Something wrong?" 

Catching up again, she said, "I just - that's a pretty important job, no matter how...unprofessional...it's gotten." She paused and looked back over at Star to see if she looked upset at the last statement. "...Sorry."

"It's ok. I wish I could say it wasn't true, but...things weren't always like that. I do like to go to the meetings anyway, though."

"Why aren't you in the council anymore though? You weren't...kicked out of it, were you?"

Starbeam gave a soft laugh, "Oh, no. They asked me to be mayor, after the old one left."

"W-wait - what?"

"I didn't want a job like that - too much power, and more power means more stress. And by then, I had Lou." The blue mare nodded towards her foal, who had galloped ahead to play with bugs at the side of the road as they caught up again.

"So then you just gave up your council position?"

"No."

Rose stared blankly at her, and Star, upon noticing her confusion, gave another soft laugh and elaborated, "I thought I'd stay on, but when they took another approach on who to choose for mayor and ended up with Pinkie, I decided I didn't like being involved in Ponyville's politics too much anymore. It's ok though - I mean, Lou's father had already left, and it really didn't hurt to have the extra time on my hands."

That left the filly curious about Lou's father, but she decided it was best not to go into what may be a touchy topic and said instead, "I meant to ask...where did Lou's name come from?"

"Oh, that - well, I guess it does seem out of place since pony names typically have meaning-" She cleared her throat. "-to some degree..." In fact, many pony names tended to be appealing terms thrown together haphazardly. "But see, when Lou's name was assigned everyone was assuming a filly would be born - it's more common, of course. So his name was originally Bellaluna - Baby Bellaluna, that is."

Rose stared confusedly. "...'Pretty moon'?"

Star laughed again. "Something like that. So anyway, I just shortened it to 'Lou'. It's more masculine for the poor little guy, and I think I heard somewhere that it was a human name." Seeing the filly brighten up at mention of humans, she added, "And by 'heard' I mean 'read'. You'd do well not to add an obsession with humans to your image as ' the poor little filly that should really get some therapy.' Hey - where do you live, anyway?"

"The nursery."

"Oh dear, still? I thought they transfered out the fillies your age."

"They do...when they have someplace to go. No one knows who my parents are." All foals were taken away from their parents for the beginning years of their lives, as part of Ponyville tradition.

Starbeam shot over a sympathetic look, and seemed to be feeling very awkward. "Oh...sorry." Answering Rose's unspoken question, she added, "I didn't want Lou in the nursery - a sense of community is great and everything, but at this point it's like parents aren't really parents anymore. I didn't want to give my foal away and be given back a stranger a few years down the line. I still let him play with the foals there as often as I can, though... Which reminds me - don't you get lonely there, being the only filly your age?"

"Oh really, it's fine - there are several fillies there like me. Quite a few, actually... But we just help out around, and the older ones like me get their own rooms."

"Hmm, I wouldn't have thought there were many...odd...Well, looks like we're almost to the nursery, kiddo. Hey - you should come over and help me watch Lou sometime, ok? Or if you just need anything - the ponies around town might give you some trouble after all that happened."

"Ok, thanks..." Rose didn't like the idea of imposing, but she knew by now how stubborn Starbeam could be, and knew agreeing would keep her feeling alright about the situation. By now they had already reached the nursery, and the filly gave a slight wave and hurried inside, hoping to go unnoticed as she had in fact ended up home after curfew.

However, the first thing she was greeted by inside was Sunny, standing nearly nose-to-nose with her. "Ah!" Rose cried before she had quite registered who it was. Sunny, thankfully, was unfazed.

Sunny was about a year older than Rose, but her best friend in the nursery. Her full name was actually the most dreadful, long-winded one Rose had ever heard, printed on her birth certificate as "Good Morning, Sunshine". That's right - it was so horrible, it required a comma right in the middle. However, Fluttershy, the mare that looked after the foals, had mercifully shortened it to "Sunny" from a very young age. Sunny had always been a very agreeable filly, with an admirable way of staying calm and thinking rationally in any sort of situation. In her younger years she spent so much of her time sleeping and lazing around that her eyes seemed to take on a natural half-closed expression, making her always appear laid-back and sleepy. That hadn't changed much, except now that she was older the sleepy quality of the look was replaced by a more flirtateous appearance, accentuated by the ever-present eyeshadow the young pony was fond of wearing.

"There's a handsome stallion waiting to see you," Sunny said with a soft smirk. "A gentleman caller, I'm sure."

"Very funny," Rose said sarcastically.

"Oh, actually I mean it." Sunny frowned at the critical stare she was recieving from the other filly and added, "Except for the caller part, I mean - he looks really official, and he had a badge, so fat chance. You could always hope, though. I mean, if you're into that type of guy."

"Uh...here to see me, though? And...you're _sure_ he's a stallion?"

Sunny fixed her friend with an odd stare.

"Ok, fine, fine. I'll take your word for it. But why?" Stallions were, to say the least, rare in Ponyville. They were forced to make themselves scarce, though Rose had yet to find out exactly why or by whom, and to run into one at all was an unusual occurence.

The other filly gave an annoyed grimace and said in a voice that was obviously meant to mock whoever had come, "'It is official business'." Switching back to her normal way of talking she added, "He's been waiting for about 10 minutes in the sitting room, and he's kinda creepy - won't take his stupid sunglasses off, even though he's inside."

Rose just muttered, "That's reassuring", and stepped hesitantly around the corner.

A bright blue stallion sat on a chair in the sitting room of the nursery, looking distastefully around the room decorated mainly in cheerful pastels. His hair was a shade or red-orange that Rose considered to be almost unpleasant to the eyes, and she couldn't see his eyes past the reflective lenses of his official-looking black sunglasses. Rose thought they were curious as most sunglasses in Ponyville had frames in bright pinks and purples, and offered no UV protection as they were more for decoration and had no lenses at all. The filly found herself staring fixedly at the distorted reflection of the room in the shiny plastic until the stallion cleared his throat.

"You were out past curfew." His tone sounded more like a statement than anything else, but somehow his official air made Rose feel as though she had just been proven guilty of some horrible crime. To be fair to Sunny, though, Rose admitted in the back of her mind that the other filly had managed an incredibly accurate impression.

Her ears visibly drooped and she sank into a chair across the room, stuttering, "I-I...Miss Pie said it was alright - I was at the town meeting..." Taking a moment to gather her thoughts she paused, then added in what was hopefully a more calm voice, "...But that wasn't why you came, was it?"

"No, that was merely an observation, young miss Blossom." His tone still didn't sound any warmer. Rose waited for him to continue, but was disappointed as the two sat in a long, awkward silence.

Finally, speaking up timidly, the filly asked, "So...why did you come here?"

Standing up and striding across the room to her, the stallion pulled out a badge. "I'm Agent Waterfire from Hasbro, and I regret to inform you that you are under arrest." He didn't seem to regret anything.

* * *

((A/N: Mwahaha, better cliffhanger there for you? I like to keep my chapters short-ish, but I promise you I'm well into the next one already. Anyway, this chapter goes to Marbletoast at MLP Arena for being a diligent reviewer so far. Yay for in-depth, constructive criticism! 

Keep sparkling! - Jelly))


	5. Running from The Law

All Rose Blossom could do was sit and gape up at him. Finally she said haltingly, "But - I - didn't...do anything..." When Agent Waterfire again refused to offer any sort of response, she changed the statement to a question that he would most likely feel obligated to answer. "What am I under arrest _for?_ What did I do wrong? What rule did I break?"

Pulling out a notepad(something Rose suspected he'd been itching to do, judging by how proudly he seemed to brandish it), Agent Waterfire flipped a few pages down, presumably scanned the page(his eyes couldn't be seen), and upon putting the notepad away again said in the same cold, official tone he'd been using throughout the entire conversation, "Mainly disturbing the peace. Hasbro believes you are a danger to the well-being of yourself and others."

"Oh. Um... Can I pack?" Rose shot up from her chair, knocking it onto the floor behind her, and ran out of the room, just as she heard the stallion calling after her in an irritated tone, "No."

The filly paid no mind, and started down one of the pink-wallpapered hallways in the nursery, absentmindedly scanning the name cards on the doors as she heard hurried hoofbeats coming from the sitting room. She was numbly aware that she was running from "The Law", as all the bank robber ponies had in the old action movies(which had incidentally been banned from the nursery by Fluttershy after a few overly-enthusiastic games of Cops and Robbers that proved destructive to the furniture). Rose didn't really think she was a criminal, but also knew she couldn't shout the cliched line, "I've been framed!" as it didn't fit in with the situation at all. In fact, she had nothing to her defense - as far as she knew, she'd be locked away in some cramped little jail cell before she could even figure out if she _was_ innocent.

Her hooves guiding her more than her mind, she quickly found herself in not her own room but Sunny's. Rather than question it she hurriedly closed and locked the door behind her(quietly, in hopes of not giving away her location to Agent Waterfire). Sinking down onto her friend's bed, her heart racing, she distractedly raised a front hoof and stared at it almost accusingly. _Why did you take me here? Why?_ All at once, as if her hooves themselves spoke up in reply, something clicked into place in her mind and Rose had her answer. She jumped off the bed(still trying to stay quiet, as she heard swift hooffalls rush past her door) and rushed to the trunk at the foot of it. Brushing aside Sunny's various wrinkled outfits and prying open the lid to the stuffed trunk revealed a large assortment of clothes of all designs, sizes, and colors.

Rose began to toss out clothes, allowing her mind a brief second to register what they were as her eyes flitted over them. _Miniskirt...fake pearl necklace...neon-green tutu...sequined sunglasses...halloween costume? ...No..._ She was soon halfway through the truck, but she still hadn't found what she was looking for.

When Sunny had been first going into the defiant stage that had proved to last her several years(and was still going on today), she had run out to see Frilly Frocks and attempted to order all of the most garish, bizarre, and unique clothes that were available within her budget. After months of recieving large packages in the mail of outfits that had no-doubt sat in warehouses, never deserving to see the light of day, Sunny was still only partially satisfied. Soon, to the disappointment of all adult ponies in town, she realized what she really needed. "Ponies have clothes in all colors", the filly had said, "But how many have just a single piece of clothing that's black?" Of course, with black being in incredibly low demand around Ponyville, another month passed in which Sunny had still had no luck whatsoever. Next she turned to dyes, which of course didn't come in black either. Then, being her crafty self, the filly had gone and bought out Frilly's stock of dyes in the darkest blue that she could find, and mercilessly soaked a dark purple ensemble in it for several hours straight. At the end of the day, Sunny's hooves(and much of her carpet, to Fluttershy's dismay) were stained midnight blue, but the filly was satisfied, as she came out of the experience with a new, very nearly black wardrobe.

...Of course, two weeks later Sunny had tired of them and shoved them into her trunk, as was her custom. So now Rose found them tossed haphazardly into the very bottom of the trunk, buried in her friend's other abandoned "trends". She pulled them out and admired Sunny's ability to get them extraordinarily close to the target color, so that she had to examine them closely to make out specks of the original blue and purple dyes. Rose glanced out the window at the starry sky and knew that these would be better than anything she owned when it came to sneaking around.

As she began to hastily pull them on she heard a calm, stately knock on the door, instead of the urgent, angry pounding she would have expected if she was found. In an annoyed but almost bored tone, she heard Waterfire's voice call from the other side of the door, "I know you're in there, and I've sent the mare in charge for a key. I suggest you open the door, however, before I am forced to use it." Rose froze, then reached for a black knit hat at her feet and stuffed it down over her brightly-colored mane. Recieving no answer, the Agent's voice went on, "...I _can_ break this door down."

Snatching up the last article of dark clothing, a scarf, Rose wrapped up her mane in it to cover as much of her natural bright pink as she could. Then she opened the window, and was harshly reminded that the back half of the nursery was built on a hill. Thanks to the slant, she was about two stories up. She could hear voices now from the other side of the door.

"Here, sir, I've got the key. I can't imagine what's gotten into her, really! Why did you say you were here?"

"Hey, run for it, Rosey! They'll never take you alive!"

"Sunny, now you stop that! Honestly - get away from there!"

She heard a key turning in the lock and froze. At that moment, Rose would have liked very much to be more like the criminals in the action movies the foals used to watch - they may have been the bad guys, but they had the courage she lacked. When they were faced with one option, no matter how bad the odds seemed, they took a chance. Now, as the filly leaned out out the window and stared at the ground below, she felt overwhelmingly dizzy and had to lean back into the room, gripping the ledge for support to even stay on her feet. She simply couldn't bring herself to jump, and clearly didn't have time to coax herself. Not letting herself imagine the height and edging closer so that she was leaning out backwards a bit, she thought, _I'll just have to make this quick. Alright, maybe if I found something I could use to scale down really fast..._

Then the door swung open revealing Waterfire, then Fluttershy standing behind him, then Sunny standing behind her. Although the scene as a whole was frozen in shock, Rose could tell that Flutter had been in the process of attempting to drag the other filly away. But for about five seconds they all looked in at her with identical bewildered looks - this could even be guessed of Waterfire, sunglasses or no. Finally the stallion composed himself and took a half-step closer before stopping himself. Sounding for the first time concerned but managing to keep his tone firm, the Hasbro Agent said slowly, "Step away from the window."

Rose looked back and forth between the three ponies in front of her. Fluttershy was in the same frozen position of horror with a hoof outstretched as though still holding onto Sunny, although the filly had already stepped out of her grasp. Sunny herself had taken on an oddly serene expression. Her eyebrows were raised in mild amusement, her eyes had slid halfway closed again, and what looked like a small smile had begun to play across her lips. Everything in her expression seemed to say, _Go for it._ Then there was Agent Waterfire, who looked unsure of himself for the first time since Rose had seen him. She was sure he wouldn't move closer to arrest her for fear of her jumping if he did.

Oh, but there was no need for that. Not anymore. In a swift movement the filly closed her eyes, spun around and threw herself out the window. The next time she had a chance to think, she was already falling through the air.

* * *

((A/N: I hope there are more people reading than there are saying they're reading. I mean, not that writing this isn't rewarding to myself, because it is...-ish... And yes, I'm in a real habit or using cliffhangers right now, mainly because it makes it easier for me to know where to cut off a chapter. Um...sorry. 

Anyway, assuming there are people out there that this matters to, I will be getting going on the next chapter soon-ish. I have ideas, I just have to choose one. That's the hard part.

Continue to sparkle(and review)! - Jelly))


	6. Escape

One of Rose's front hooves was the first thing to hit the ground. _Crunch._ Then she found herself lying on her side in the grass, staring up at the stars.The world seemed to be spinning far too fast, but the filly found her gaze wandering slightly to the side, to look up at three identical windows with three identical Hasbro Agents, dancing around each other like a swarm of gnats. She blinked a few times and managed to get the triplets to condense into one image, but it didn't make the sight any less pleasant.

The stallion whipped off his sunglasses and sighed, running a hoof through his mane and muttering in an exasperated tone, "Oh, Megan." His eyes were blue, Rose somewhat deliriously observed. Then said eyes turned down in a glare and Waterfire added to her, "Don't move." He quickly disappeared back into the building.

At that moment, Rose didn't honestly think she _could_ move. Her ankle felt like it had been lit on fire from the inside. However, she desperately wanted to try to get away. She rolled onto her stomach, then set out her good front leg in front of her. "Psssst." The filly didn't pay much mind to the noise, struggling to get her back legs under her so that she rose awkwardly on three shaky hooves. "_Pssssssssst!_"

"Hmm?" Rose finally looked up, blinking at the light pouring out of the open window overhead - it seemed far too bright now. When her eyes adjusted she saw Sunny, smiling down calmly.

"You want me to stall him for you, Rosey?"

"Um...ok?"

"Haha, sweet!" Sunny was out of sight in a second, and Rose shook her head hard to try to clear it. This just got a lot of pink forelock in her eyes, and she had to toss that out of her face to be able to see. Then she was aware of just how much time she had already wasted.

Of course, it wasn't easy to walk on three legs, and she knew she was being incredibly slow, but she still jumped out of her skin when she heard a stallion's voice behind her say, "Didn't I tell you not to move?"

The filly cringed when she recognized who it was and froze, then slowly turned to face Agent Waterfire, who was once again wearing his sunglasses. "Uh-"

She was cut off by a blur of dark pink jumping in from the side and slamming into the stallion's flank. The next thing Rose knew, Waterfire was pinned down on his stomach with Sunny standing on his back, smirking down at him and seeming close to dissolving into a fit of laughter. "Alright! Run, Rose! I can take 'im!"

Rose, of course, didn't move. Her life had suddenly become very, very odd. "Sunny...I think he's a police officer."

"No he isn't! He's like a spy or something. And I'm like the action hero, so run for it!"

Waterfire frowned and turned his eyes skyward, although he couldn't affectively glare at the filly from his angle. "Get off of me! This isn't some silly little game, and I can place you under arrest."

"Yeah, well I know karate. Oh, by the way, Rose - looking sharp!"

"Sunny..."

"Rose, run for it! Come on, it won't be fun if you don't run!" Sunny's tone reminded Rose very much of when she had been a younger filly, and was constantly bugging Rose to put her book down and come play.

"I...think I may have broken something..."

Waterfire tried to throw Sunny off of him, but as soon as she started to lose her footing she leapt back on him. "Oh...well, find somewhere to go. Don't worry - I'll keep him down!" The stallion tossed her off again and she did a little roll and pinned him down again, adding hesitantly, "...For like five minutes, maybe...tops."

Rose backed up a step, unsure that her friend would even last two minutes. Finally, she decided that if she was going to get caught at this point, it was better to have run first - at least she would have some chance, after all. A very slight one, but it was there. "...Be careful, Sunny..."

Eyes half-closed to achieve a more haughty look, the filly tilted her head to the side and said breezily, "Who, me?"

Rose smiled, turned around, and picked up a clumsy gallop. She knew there was a small forest behind the property and, mentally thanking Sunny once again, remembered where there was a loose board in the fence that closed in the nursery's large backyard(which the two had discovered while exploring in their younger days). If she could just make it there...there was a slightly bigger chance. Still just slightly, as she hastily reminded herself.

Then, before she knew it, she was there. Then she was slipping through the fence. Then she was deep into the forest, her ankle beginning to feel more numb than painful, and wasn't even really willing herself to run any longer - for the second time that night, Rose's hooves were carrying her along without her mind having to guide them.

* * *

((A/N: Short, yes, but another is coming very, very soon... I just have to switch now - it should be a bit clear why next chapter. Next one up...tonight or tomorrow. Yah, I'm writing these faster than they're being read... Oh, and as for my final comments, I'm randomly trying to tie sparkles into them all - sparkles are so friendly, aren't they? And no, no other reason than that, I'm afraid. Ah, and yes - bones _crunch_ when they break. Like biting into a well-made piece of peanut brittle. Ooh, yum! 

Um...go buy some Sparkles! Yay, how fun! - Jelly))


	7. Sunny Stalls

((A/N: Disclaimer - I don't own any ponies seen so far. The personalities and story, however, are mine.))

* * *

Sunny walked very slowly across the yard, swishing her tail calmly back and forth with each casual step. She kept a stately gait, lifting her hooves high and nearly strutting in place.

"Could you pick up the pace?"

Sunny smirked at him. "You wanted to take me along..."

After a struggle, Waterfire had managed to get to his feet and keep a firm hoof around Sunny's to keep her from trying any more of her "karate" moves. Then, having no other ideas of how to keep her out of the way, he had settled on keeping her where he could see her, and had hoofcuffed their front legs together, opting to drag her along with him to find Rose. Of course, this was now proving to be a mistake - Sunny was intentionally slowing him down, so the two were only able to keep moving at a steady walk.

"You know, it's your fault your little friend got away. Now I'm sure she's limping all over town, and now her ankle will never heal right, and you'll only have yourself to blame." Waterfire pushed his glasses into place and tried to yank Sunny forward by the leg.

Sunny stumbled forward a little, then swayed melodramatically and threw herself down onto her side. She grinned up at him and said in a light, faint voice, "Oh dear, you made me lose my balance!"

Agent Waterfire scowled and groaned, "Get _up!_ For Megan's sake, you did that on purpose! If I have to chain you up to a tree, I will." The stallion held his nose high in the air and doubled over to her other side, coming to a stop at a tree with low-hanging branches.

Sunny sat where she was and tilted her head as she gazed up at the tree in deep thought. "Hm..." After a long dramatic pause she stood up and said, "Yep, a tree. Good idea!" Then she held up the loose hoofcuff that had been around her leg and clapped it around a low hanging branch.

"_Hey!_" Waterfire tugged once at the tree branch in a vain attempt to get his hoof loose. "How did you even get out of those?" The stallion reached for a large keyring, flipping through them exasperatedly to find the right one.

"Duh, any filly can pull a Magic Marigold at one point or another." Sunny strutted up to him and attempted to smack the keyring out of his hooves, but he knew to be cautious by now and neatly side-stepped the motion.

Waterfire finally slipped the right key into the lock and rubbed his newly-freed hoof, frowning again at the filly. "You know what? You're now officially more trouble than your worth. You're free to go." He started off at a very brisk pace, hoping to make up for lost time, but Sunny bounded along on his heels. Pushing his sunglasses further up his nose and turning to face her he finally asked, "_Why _are you still following me?"

Grinning up at him, the filly replied in an airy tone, "You're after Rosey. Rosey's my friend, and I'm going to stop you. Following you seems to be the best way to go about that." Her expression once more switching to a somewhat devilish smirk, the attractive young pony added in a mock-patient tone, "I have more reasons, if you still don't understand."

"No, that'll do", Waterfire muttered. "It's not like you can do anything, anyway." The stallion came to a stop at the fence and, losing his patience once more, demanded, "How in Megan's name does a wounded filly jump over a 7-foot-high fence?" Letting his sunglasses slip farther down his nose again, he shot Sunny an accusing glare from over the lenses. "There's another way out of this yard, and you know it."

"Of course I do." Sunny beamed at him, and the Hasbro Agent let out a loud, long sigh.

* * *

((A/N - Short chapter, but I wanted to reassure that yes, I am in fact still alive. Plus, I like Sunny. I wanted her to have a chapter. I've also temporarily disabled anonymous reviews, which I really didn't want to have to do. I know some authors deal, but I could rant all day about this kind of flame. I like intelligent criticism, thank you very much - trash talk me all you like when you're ready to sound smart. 

Um...too tired to think of a sparkly thing to say - Jelly))


	8. Moondancer

((A/N: I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive! And I'm _finally _back with another chapter, because my handful of reviewers are simply the greatest.

Disclaimer: I own the ponies' souls, bwahaha...not their pretty colors and symbols. Those are Hasbro's.))

* * *

Rose Blossom found herself having more and more difficulty walking as she made her way down the streets of Ponyville, but knew what could come of stopping to rest. She trusted Sunny to be a good distraction - the filly could pull it off without putting out any effort - but even that could only go on for so long. The streets were eerily silent, and the houses around her, with their walls of shiny, polished plastic, seemed to give off an soft glow under the streetlights. 

The filly finally decided to try a house and ask for directions, not finding it appealing to wander like this for long in her injured state. She was pretty sure that Starbeam and Lou would live near the main part of town, amongst the smaller businesses, because this was the nicer end of town and Starbeam had once held a political position. She picked one that still had a light on - but only one, upstairs. She was hoping this meant that the resident didn't have company after all the excitement in town, but also would still be awake.

The door was answered by a pale blue mare that would have looked a lot like Starbeam if not for her creamy blond mane and tail. She didn't seem irritated at the late hour, and said simply, "Isn't it past curfew, dear?"

Rose felt her face grow warm and was slightly annoyed at being reminded of something so obvious so many times. The filly began to stutter out an excuse when the mare cut her off. "I-"

"Now, come inside out of the cold."

She did as she was told and it dawned on her that the mare's first words may have been sarcastic. This was a little ray of hope, seeing as most ponies in town weren't even mentally capable of sarcasm, but Rose was still anxious to get going again soon. She wouldn't have stepped into this strangers' home if she hadn't been desperate for some sort of hide-out.

She was still standing in place in the entry hall when the pony gestured her into what looked to be the sitting room, and was debating whether or not to leave her possible exit route. The filly was starting to back up a half-step instead when the blondmare said casually, "I'll fix you up some tea while we hide you from the authorities."

Rose froze in place when the words sank in. "How-?" She cut off the question uncertainly.

Smiling gently, the mare failed to answer thequestion, andinsteadsaid, "Oh, yes, I'm sorry - I didn't introduce myself. My name is Moondancer."

Something nagged at the back of the filly's mind. "Um... Oh! You have the same name as a famous unicorn from Dream Valley."

"Hm, famous?" Moondancer raised an eyebrow in an expression that reminded Rose of Sunny.

Rose assumed this was somewhat of a dig that not many ponies read the stories of Dream Valley anymore, and blushed. "Well, maybe not famous, but she was certainly mentioned a lot in the books. She had all sorts of powers, and they didn't center around just one thing like most of the unicorn powers did." On a roll and eager to share her knowledge, she struggled to bring an image to mind. "She was...um...a white unicorn with..."

"Red hair," the mare suggested.

"Oh, that was it! And a streak of light purple," Rose confirmed with a nod. Then she did a mental double-take and gaped at Moondancer. "Wait...how did you know that? You must...do you read about Dream Valley too?"

Moondancer smiled with a raised eyebrow again, looking more like Sunny than ever. "Hm... No," she smirked, and turned back to the sitting room. "Now, really, that leg looks bad. Sit while I make you that tea." She went on into the next room, most likely the kitchen, and closed the door behind her.

Thoroughly unnerved, Rose sat, head spinning.

* * *

A few houses down the street, a phone rang shrilly as a mare trotted to pick it up.When she set it against her ear, the first thing that greeted her was a soft, amused voice. "You'll never guess who I have in my sitting room right now."

* * *

((A/N: I was going to make the chapter go longer, but I decided to throw in a nice, sparkly cliffhanger because A) it was convenient, and B) I felt the need to get something up, fast. Don't panic though, it's just me being cruel to you guys...and that's all I should really say. 

Review please! I'll keep right on going into the next chapter, and hope I don't slow down and take a ridiculous amount of time this time. Sorry for shortness for the time being, but hey, it's up.))


	9. Are you a ninja?

((A/N: And here we go, Chapter 9 before I lost enthusiasm!

Disclaimer: I own the plot and personalities, but not the pretty brushable hair and shiny plastic playsets.))

* * *

Starbeam shifted the phone to her other ear and tried to place the voice. "Moondancer?" 

"Yes, and I have your little filly friend here. After you helped her out this evening, I assume that she was trying to find you."

The white-haired mare frowned confusedly. Moondancer was kind, and had watched Lou for her on occasion, but could be awfully mysterious. Of course, the other mare seemed to get a kick out of it, so Starbeam often didn't hold it against her. Now that she was trying to puzzle a statement out, however, it was frustrating. "Were you at the meeting, Moondancer? I didn't see you there."

"Oh, no, I stopped going to those some time ago. Tonight I wish I had, however. I heard about the little event through a friend."

Even the last statement was slightly odd to Starbeam, because Moondancer didn't seem to interact with many other Ponyvillians. In fact, she had always suspected that Lou got to see more of her than anyone else. However, the mare seemed to have an infinite web of friends and connections, so that she was constantly able to refer back to something she should not have known about.

Starbeam decided not to get into it - she was too exhausted after forcing an overactive Lou into bed, and felt a headache coming on. Instead, she asked, "...So you want me to come get Rose? Is that it?"

"Well now, that seems like a good idea," Moondancer's smiling voice said from the other end, as though Starbeam had suggested it all on her own. "Oh,and bring Lou. He seems to have gotten up."

Starbeam froze, then calmed herself. _She can probably see his window from her house. His light must be on again._

"...Right. We'll be right over then."

* * *

Rose had just been served a cup of tea when there was a knock at the door, and Moondancer silently rose to answer it. Uneasy again, the filly leaned back on the couch she had seated herself on to try to see the doorway. She couldn't quite catch the front door, but it didn't matter as soon as a small blue ball of fur and pure energy launched itself onto the couch next to her, running in a small excited circle. 

Lou paused with wide eyes as he stared up at Rose. "Whoa, Miss Blossom, are you a ninja?"

Confused, the filly looked around, then the black ribbon in her hair flopped down in front of her face. "Oh. Uh...no..." She had really forgotten what she was wearing, after all that had gone on. "What are you doing here?"

"I went ahead and called your friends," Moondancer said as she came back into the room. Starbeam was behind her, and the mare looked curiously at Rose. "...As well as a few of mine", the blond mare added quietly as the other hurried in to stop Lou from playing on the furniture.

Starbeam finally settled down her colt and gestured to Rose's outfit. "So, what exactly is going on here?"

"Well," Moondancer began slowly, smiling around the room at three curious faces, "Rose here was observant enough to point out that I share the name of a unicorn well known in the stories of Dream Valley." She paused, still smiling, and Rose began to wonder if she enjoyed keeping others on the edge of their seats. "However, she was wrong in assuming that I was named after her."

Everyone continued to stare. Rose thought she knew what Moondancer was getting at, but she worried it would simply sound too absurd if she said it aloud. Lou seemed to have no such problems, so he piped up loudly, "You don't have a horn."

"Ah, yes, and I must say that it's one of the better sides - now I can walk through low doorframes with so much more confidence!" Moondancer let out a light laugh.

The other three fell silent.

* * *

((A/N: Yeah, another short chapter up in a very short time. But I'm on a roll, and I felt like cutting it off with another wicked cliffhanger. So how many of you saw that coming since we first met Moondancer? I'm guessing at least a few, but it's much harder to realize these things while in the situation, so don't think that poor Rose is too oblivious. As for the chapter title, it doesn't have much to do with what goes on, but I couldn't help it.)) 


	10. Meet the Ponies

((A/N: Ok, picking it right up.

Disclaimer:I don't own any of the ponies' appearances or names...yet... ))

* * *

Lou was the first one to break the silence. "Coooooool!" 

Then Rose leapt up, having to sit back down thanks to her leg. She settled instead for leaning forward in her seat. "You're really a unicorn?", she asked in clear admiration.

Moondancer looked almost sad for a moment. "I was. Now I'm as much an earth pony as all of you."

Starbeam looked around the room as if searching for a hidden camera. "But...Moondancer, how-?"

Asking questions didn't seem to work much of the time under Moondancer's roof, because Starbeam was cut off by a knock at the door. Moondancer, acting as though she hadn't just given them a life-changing tidbit of information, walked serenely to the door. As soon as it opened, a yellow mare with tinseled magenta hair marched in. "I'm here," she announced in an exaggerated southern accent, sounding as though the whole room of ponies had been eagerly awaiting the moment. She was still wearing a sky blue, see-through robe with sky blue feathers around the edges. Rose suspected that she had come over in her nightgown, and at this wondered why the mare was also wearing make-up.

Then a dark purple young mare forced her way in, and said brightly, "Since you said Merriweather was coming, I went ahead and called everyone else, ok?"

With a soft sigh, Moondancer said, "Ok, sure Fizzy."

The yellow mare, who Rose assumed was Merriweather, pretended to clear her throat with a loud spoken "ahem", and after she had drawn the eyes of the other ponies she struck a pose. After a short dramatic pause she repeated, "I _said,_ I'm here!" Rose felt that Merriweather was expecting a round of wild applause, and when she was greeted by silence she swished over to an armchair and sat in a huff, a blue feather puffing off of her nightgown to drift over her head.

There was an awkward silence before another purple pony with wide brown eyes poked her head in the door, which was still standing open. Upon seeing that others had already arrived, she stepped in brightly. "Hi, everyone! I missed you all!" Her eyes softened into a sad expression, and Rose was reminded of melted dark chocolate. "We should get together more often."

Before anyone could answer the mare, who seemed almost depressed, a voice from outside called, "Ooh, hi Lickety! Can we come in?"

Moondancer, looking extremely amused at the hectic crowd of ponies entering her home in a steady stream, called out a casual, "Of course, of course!"

A group crowded in through the doorway at that, all making their way into the living room as they chattered amongst themselves. Rose took slight comfort in the fact that they seemed to know as little about what was going on as she did.

"Now," Moondancer began, which amazingly enough was all it took to quiet the room down, "Rose has ended up in a sort of...unfortunate situation with the law."

There was a pause in which Lou began to say "cool" again, but was cut off with his mother's hoof over his mouth. Moondancer patiently waited before going on, "It seems she has taken an unusual interest in Dream Valley, and authorities are not pleased with her...'meddling'. I feel we are all indirectly responsible, so we must take it upon ourselves to help her out for the time being."

Rose was surprised by how on top of the situation Moondancer seemed to be, and wondered when exactly she had found the time to sort everything out in her mind.

The mare was already continuing, "Let's start with some introductions, shall we? Now, let's start with the easy ones..." Gesturing to each in the group of ponies, she said, "Rose, this is Merriweather, Applejack, Wing Song, Butterscotch, and Lickety Split.

"Now, moving onto the more difficult ones: Triple Treat, as you know her, or Sweet Stuff; Wind Wisher, or Wind _Whistler_; Fizzy Pop, or just plain Fizzy; Kiwi Tart, or Mimic; Pretty Parasol, just Parasol...and...oh, we're missing some ponies, aren't we?"

A few ponies nodded, others shrugged, and Merriweather responded as though Moondancer had been talking solely to her. "I have _no_ idea. I don't really care, either - not that I should. I'm not their babysitter." With that she whipped a file out of her purse and began smoothing out the edges of her hooves, as a gesture just to show _how _little she cared.

Just then, the door banged open and a pink pony rushed in. "Uh, sorry I'm late, guys..." She froze when she saw Rose and stuttered helplessly, "B-but, I-I thought this was a meeting for the, uh..." Triple Treat nodded kindly, and the pink pony frowned, still looking at Rose. "Oh, shoot. She knows?" Again, Treat nodded. "Oh, shoot," the pony said again.

All Rose could do was stare in amazement at the mare she had seen often, spoken with, and even questioned on several occasions. _Her too?_

Moondancer just smiled at all this. "Cotton Candy. I'm so glad you came."

* * *

((A/N: Short. Again. Sorry. I just wanted to be able to keep getting stuff up, and it's easier now. Plus, cliffhangers are addictive, even if a lot of them aren't too intense, and I keep finding convenient places for them... 

Keep reading! Ooh, and sparkling! (Yay, I got that in.) ))


	11. Explanations

((A/N: Back with more, without _too _much delay!

Disclaimer: MLP aren't mine. The rest of the story is, so be nice.))

* * *

Rose gaped at Candy. "B-but..._you _can't be from Dream Valley, you don't even believe it exists." 

Candy shook her head, her face flushed as she appeared to truly wish she was somewhere else. Rose considered bitterly that she seemed to have that affect on ponies lately. "That was me trying to throw you off the trail, honey. It's an agreement we all have - we aren't supposed to tell anyone. Speaking of which, Moondancer, why-?"

"Oh, don't _even_," Merriweather interrupted fiercely, "I am _not _sitting through all that again!"

Rose had considered Moondancer's previous explanation extremely brief, but didn't argue the point, as she was distracted with the current branch of conversation already. Remembering the last converstaion she'd had with Cotton Candy at the Cafe, she spoke up hesitantly, "Uh, wait a minute - there aren't any Friendship Gardens ponies I should know about here, are there?" She was beginning to wish she had read up on that section more.

However, Candy shook her head with a small smile and said lightly, "Oh gosh no, those are just fantasy stories!" Rose gave her a skeptical look and the pink mare added, "...And that really wasn't the best thing to say, given the current situation, was it?"

Moondancer, as always, seemed amused and quite content to sit back and watch. However, as an uncomfortable silence filled the room, she joined back in to reassure Rose. "Really though, we never heard anything from any foreign ponies across that time. We were all pretty much stranded in Dream Valley for the better part of that decade."

Starbeam, who seemed to be handling all of this quite well(in that she was in a state of quiet shock), raised a hoof as though asking permission to speak. She had always struck Rose as confident, but now appeared to be feeling out of place as she clung to an annoyed, squirming Lou. "You know, now _I _have a question." The mare didn't take the gesture so far as to wait to be 'called on'. "You said you were stranded, right? So why are you here? And why aren't you unicorns and... I don't know...are there any pegasi?"

Wind Wisher silently raised a hoof in acknowledgement, not taking her nose out of a book she'd taken from Moondancer's coffee table.

"Ooh! Flutter pony here," Wing Song said with a shy smile, clearly happy that it had been brought up.

"Unicorn," Fizzy cried, waving both front hooves in the air like she was flagging down a plane.

"Unicorn," Kiwi Tart repeated brightly, in much the same tone Fizzy had used.

A few seconds passed before Triple Treat, not wanting to be left out, chimed in, "Twinkle-Eye!"

Starbeam glanced around the room, looking a bit put-off at the long interruption. "Uh...right. So what happened?"

Silence.

"Fine fine fine, whatever." Merriweather was all too happy to take the abandoned spotlight. "Y'all can just sit on back - _I'll _explain.

"Well, it all started with- No, wait, let me start over. It started with... Ok, I'm gonna head all the way back to legend. It started with Megan."

"Did you know Megan," Lou interrupted just as Merriweather seemed to have gathered her thoughts.

The yellow mare scoffed and glared at the colt. "Kid, just how old do you think I _am?_ Ahem. As the _stories, _which I have heard from other, _older _ponies go, Megan was a very nice girl since Firefly first took her to Dream Valley. Saved the place a couple times, but that's really not the point at all. The point is she's from Earth, where all the good little ponies are supposed to go after they die, if you go for that whole thing. And supposedly, on Earth, there were a bunch of humans like her. So when she went back, she told them about us, right? And she took it all the way to the top - to Hasbro, the guys that rule everything there. Then Hasbro wanted to see what all this was about, so years and years and _years _later, in _my _time, they came to visit us all.

"They brought a bunch of their artists to make little sculptures of us and stuff, to - I don't know - study back on Earth or something." She patted her hair. "I, as I'm _sure _you've already guessed, was one of the models. So anyway, we pretty much did the modeling thing for the humans, but other than that we stayed seperate. But pretty soon, they got ahold of the Magic Mirror." Dramatic pause. Since the Dream Valley ponies had already heard the story before and Rose couldn't remember what the Magic Mirror was, the response was completely unsatisfactory.

"Oh, for Megan's sake," Merriweather muttered, before going on in a slow tone as if talking to a foal, "When two ponies were in love and decided they wanted to have a foal, they would go to Dream Castle and look in Majesty's Magic Mirror, and out would trot a little foal that looked like them." By now it was too late for the audience to be shocked at the concept of Hasbro taking this, so the mare frowned and went on with her story.

"_Anyway, _they wanted to start experimenting with new ponies to study, and started mixin' up couples of ponies with weird looks to them. That's how we ended up with freaks o' nature like the Twinkle-Eyes." Fizzy snorted in loud indignation, Kiwi Tart glared, and Triple Treat looked absolutely heartbroken.

"Some o' the fillies, like Fizzy, got to stay there. I heard there were a bunch of others, though, that they shipped away. But pretty soon they got bored with all that, so one day they just packed up and left us with all their rejects, and put up nasty fences so we'd still be there if they ever wanted to come back. Of course, no one tells three-time Miss Dream Valley where she can and can't go, so I signed right on when I found out Moondancer was figurin' out a way to get to somewhere else."

Moondancer herself was surprisingly fidgety through Merriweather's explanation, and finally jumped in to finish herself, "Well, I had heard rumors of Hasbro experimenting further with some ponies in Friendship Gardens, but those ended before I could even think of how to try and help. When Fizzy had a vision about Ponyville, I managed to put together a spell to get us over here. This time around Hasbro's been much more subtle in their control, and yet they rule over everything far more completely than they did the last two times. We knew we could risk being recognized if we went around with our old appearances, so Mimic helped us tap into the magic of the Rainbow Waterfall outside of town to change our colors and types. We were more grateful we'd taken the precaution when we discovered that this town consists entirely of Earth ponies."

Throughout the explanation, Rose's mind had surprisingly drifted back to Agent Waterfire. Now that she knew more about Hasbro, is disturbed her to think that at least one pony was working for them. The filly frowned and said, "So...Agent Waterfire said he was sent by Hasbro. They have ponies working for them now?"

Looking genuinely sad, Moondancer nodded. "Yes, we can't even be sure how many ponies are working for them now, but we know there are a great deal. Mainly males, because they like to keep them out of the society and in a place where they can keep track of them better."

Butterscotch spoke up for the first time with a dreamy expression on her face. "But ooh, Agent Waterfire...what a hottie..."

Everyone stared, and Fizzy muttered, "Traitor." Rose smiled faintly at her and, after hearing her be referred to as a filly, realized for the first time that she and Fizzy seemed to be around the same age.

Blushing, Butterscotch looked around the room, looking for someone to agree. "What? Well, he _is_..."

"When have you seen him before," Triple Treat asked with what sounded like genuine interest, although Rose suspected that she was trying to change the topic to something more peaceful.

Butterscotch simply gestured out the window, and out into the street. "Well that's him, right?"

The collective horrified gaze of everyone in the room followed her hoof to where, sure enough, two familiar ponies could be seen walking down the street.

* * *

((A/N: Haha yes, Hasbro's so high and mighty in Ponyland that the ponies think they rule the world. Yay. But ugh, I hate the big-long-explanation part. At least that's out of the way, but tell me if it was just _too _too long and boring. This is my first try at something like this, since I never usually reach this part in stories. (I hardly even write straight through by chapters.) Oh yeah, and in case you couldn't tell in her 3 little lines, Butterscotch dumb blonde. Couldn't have it any other way!

Review, review, review!))


	12. A Good Distraction

((A/N: Back again! I hope y'all like this chapter! (All 3 of you, hehe.)

Disclaimer: My Little Pony, the names of places and characters, and the ponies' colors aren't mine. The story and personalities are.))

* * *

Sunny was busy looking around at the buildings, and of course, Agent Waterfire. She didn't see many stallions, and no matter how guilty it made her feel, she was more than willing to admit to herself that he looked good. The sunglasses were kinda stupid, and he didn't smile much, but it was there. 

And hey, Rose never had to know what she thought of him.

So just when she was trying to angle the corners of her eyes toward him and look at a building over his shoulder at the same time, she spotted her best friend peering anxiously out of one of the windows. _Well, shoot. Think of the devil._

The worst of it was, it wasn't just some dinky little upstairs, bedroom window. It wasn't even the size of Sunny's window(which was apparently bigger than a normal dinky little window, since tonight she'd discovered that it was big enough for a filly to jump out of). It was a big, ridiculously-sized picture window in someone's living room. To top it all off, Rose Blossom was also surrounded by about a thousand other ponies.

Ok, more like ten or fifteen, but ponies are colorful enough that it still drew quite a bit more attention to the scene. Handsome as he was, Sunny wished she wasn't walking next to Hasbro Agent Waterfire right at the moment. Of course, the distracting thing was something she could do, but this would take a big distraction, and fast.

Sunny only hesitated a moment before she reached out a hoof and snatched Waterfire's stupid sunglasses right off his nose. "Whoo, hey, look, I have your sunglasses!", she said loudly, waving them around in the air and hopping as far ahead as she was willing to chance. The dramatic part of her soul - which she had acknowledged somewhat regularly after her little "black phase" - complained that her heart wasn't in the performance, but she was keeping one eye on the window. It was tricky, trying to block her friend from view and lead the stallion away at the same time.

But Waterfire either hadn't learned mind-reading during whatever secret agent training he'd had, or his sunglasses were a really nice brand, because it seemed to work. "Hey! Give those back!"

The filly was pleased to find that she didn't have to think much to keep the conversation going. "Hey, come on, you know it's night, don't you? How can you wear these things and not walk into trees?" She slipped them on, and couldn't resist sliding them down her nose and shooting him a smirk over the tops of the frames. This only seemed to annoy him more, and she wondered for a moment if it would be too forward to tell him he looked cute when he was angry. _Hm...yeah, I guess, but that's never stopped me before... Oh, but wait, that line's way overused, so never mind._ She did, however, realize that she needed some sort of distraction, so she settled for giving a dramatic gasp and crying out, "Wait! I get it! You're blind, aren't you?" Then she waved a hoof in front of his eyes, which he promptly swatted away.

The stallion narrowed his eyes and said, "Ok, I know you're annoying, but this is just ridiculous. You're covering for something, aren't you?"

Sunny's playful smile flickered out of sight for a few dangerous seconds as he studied her, and just as his eyes started to look around, she bought a few more moments by shouting desperately, "Wait!"

Agent Waterfire arched an eyebrow at her in an expression that clearly said, _I'm waiting._

"Um...I..." Sunny fumbled for words. She needed something to catch him completely off-guard, and she needed it fast.

Then, suddenly, fortune smiled on her and it came to her quite clearly. She smiled the best shy smile she could manage and said, "I was just flirting, is all." Score.

The stallion stared at her blankly, and she used the distraction to bound playfully away from him. He followed a safe few steps in his confused state, so that the house with Rose in it could now be considered behind them. It was still visible, but things were looking much better. She was snapped out of her train of thought when Waterfire cleared his throat and frowned at her, clearly trying not to appear flustered. "Ahem. Right. Sure. And does that mean I get my sunglasses back?"

Sunny successfully led him a few more steps before saying lightly, "Sure", and handing them back. "Geez, all you had to do was _ask!_" Nevermind that he had. The point was, he seemed to have forgotten all about her covering for something, as he went on walking with out her prompting him to. She let him get ahead of her a few steps and looked back over her shoulder, to where Rose was still staring at her in frozen shock. The filly chanced a few more seconds' pause to wave her hooves in an eager "get out of here" gesture, then picked up the pace to catch up with Waterfire.

It wasn't until they had walked another block in awkward silence that Sunny wondered what impression her friend must have gotten. _Shoot. Maybe I need to find better stallions to tag along with._

_

* * *

_

((A/N: Good? You like? I hope so. Review! You know, Sunny chapters always seem to get short on me, but they're kinda fillers. Fillers are bad, I know, but I like Sunny. Hey, maybe you don't. Then I can write her out of something. You just have to tell me! Like, in a _review_! Oh, and more onto the real, main story next chapter! There's a really interesting part I've been looking forward to, which I think I might be able to get to next time.

Oh, and to those it may concern, I've enabled Anonymous Reviews again. I figure if someone's idea of a good time is prowling around through/flaming _My Little Pony Fanfiction, _that is entirely their business.

...But really, some people need to get a hobby.))


	13. Rainbow Waterfall

((A/N: Ok, on to the real story! Hi's to Dark Crystalline and Del Schiz for reviewing the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the ponies' appearances, the names, the names of places, etc. I _do_ own the story itself.))

* * *

When the stallion was out of sight everyone was visibly relieved - except Rose, who was still wondering why her best friend had continued to tag along behind the Hasbro agent. Of course, this _was_ Sunny, after all. She probably thought she was going undercover or something...which wasn't comforting. Rose worried that Sunny could be getting in over her head, and might end up hurt by all of this. Which - of course - would boil down to being Rose's fault. 

At this point Merriweather chose to break the silence, which the filly suspected was what the vain mare did best. "Well, _that _was stupid. We all just about blew our cover!"

Star Beam rolled her eyes and swished the curtains closed. "Alright, are there any plans? They'll obviously find us all anyway."

Merriweather, again, spoke up, "Well, I would like to make a suggestion!"

"There are ways to keep hidden, but it could be difficult. Hasbro seems to be getting more involved," Moondancer said, ignoring the other mare.

"Which is why we should use my suggestion!"

"Moondancer, d-did you mean, like, use magic?", Rose asked.

"Well, it can be more difficult while we're here, but-"

"A-HEM!" Merriweather didn't even bother to pretend she was coughing.

Moondancer frowned at her and asked with clear feigned interest, "I'm sorry, Merriweather, what was your suggestion?"

The yellow mare seemed satisfied, and beamed around the room. "Well, the way I see it, we have two options: the first is to wait around forever for Moondancer to come up with every worst-case scenario before she comes up with a plan that _she _thinks is the smartest. In the meantime, we can all cram in over here and have some lame kinda sleepover on her living room floor, hoping we have somewhere to go before we get found out..."

Moondancer cleared her throat. Her method was more subtle than Merriweather's, but still loud enough to be heard.

The mare didn't comment, but moved on, "...And the next option is to skip the whole silly worryin' step and just head on back to Dream Valley to plan our next move. In the meantime, we all get our own beds in a big, comfy _castle, _and we can pretty much be safe from Hasbro for a good long time."

It was pretty clear which option the other ponies were going to favor, and excited chatter broke out in the living room. Moondancer looked less than pleased, and Fizzy stepped forward. "Oh, please Moondancer, we haven't been able to go back home in so long!"

"That's because the trip is risky, conspicuous, and difficult on everyone that has to use their magic," Moondancer swiftly replied, and although her tone was cool, she sounded snippier than Rose had ever heard her. It was enough to clear away Fizzy's eager smile.

Rose felt the need to stick up for the other filly and added hestitantly, "I've always wanted to see Dream Valley...and it would buy us time, wouldn't it?"

The mare turned her gaze on Rose and sighed. "We can't do it often, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to go ahead with it. After all, I'm afraid Hasbro may know about us." At Rose's puzzled look, Moondancer glanced around to ensure that they didn't have a large audience. "I don't want to scare anyone, but I don't see how they would consider you a threat unless Dream Valley was already a touchy subject with them. They wouldn't want any ponies from my generation around, which is understandable - they have the Ponyville ponies right where they want them."

Rose knew she should be concerned at this new information, but her excitement was blocking out most of her reasonable thoughts. "So, we're going?", she asked, worried that her bright tone told the mare she wasn't paying much attention.

Moondancer seemed to have almost excpected this and, now turning to address the entire room, "Alright, we're going."

* * *

The ponies had been instructed to keep quiet, but it wasn't really going that way. Everyone seemed to be pleased at the thought of going to Dream Valley, so the group shuffling down the dark streets of Ponyville was filled with whispers and, whenever Fizzy couldn't contain her excitement, trotting hooffalls. 

"Slow down," Moondancer told the filly for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

Fizzy quickly did as she was told, and Rose hoped it would last this time - she liked Fizzy, and would have liked to walk next to her. She knew she couldn't keep up with any amount of trotting, seeing as she already needed Star Beam to help her keep her balance. With Moondancer in a seemingly tense mood and the other ponies having such difficulty following instructions, it took much longer than necessary to reach the Rainbow Waterfall.

Once there Rose peered over the edge of the cliff nervously. Star Beam was off searching for Lou in the crowd, and the filly was now alone with Fizzy. The other filly was chattering on about something which Rose had tried to follow at first, but given up on a few minutes ago. Now she waited for a pause in Fizzy's speech before asking, "So what exactly happens now? I mean, how do we get to Dream Valley?"

"Ohhh. Well, first we all go to the base of the falls, and Mimic changes us back to how we usually look. That's fun, 'cause I miss being a unicorn. Then Moondancer'll open the portal thing to get back there, which is right about under us. Then we all just jump, which is really fun! So yeah, then we're back in Dream Valley."

Rose peered over the edge of the cliff _again, _this time with a greater appreciation of just how far down it was. She swallowed hard. "So we just...jump?"

"Yup!", Fizzy said with a wide smile, not at all noticing Rose's discomfort. She followed Rose's gaze over the cliff with a daredevil grin, then pointed to the edge of the pool at the bottom. "Ooh, neat, look! I think Mimic's almost ready for us!" With that she dragged Rose down the hillside and to the base, obviously forgetting that she was in the company of a pony that had an injured ankle.

Rose was thankfully distracted from her now-throbbing leg by the sight of Mimic stepping into the pool. Merriweather was at the edge calling out what sounded like advice, and Mimic nodded patiently before squeezing her eyes shut, lifting her nose into the air, and swimming under the multicolored water. Seconds later, the waterfall let off a soft glow, and out swam a twinkle-eyed unicorn. It took Rose a few more seconds to realize she had forgotten to breathe. The sight of the magical creature was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen, but the ponies around her were just giving satisfied smiles.

"Me next!", Merriweather squealed, rushing into the water with her feathery blue nightgown still on. She headed to the waterfall, not looking the slightest bit nervous, and emerged with entirely different colors - and a good few more symbols.

A line quickly formed, and Mimic remained at the edge of the water, appearing increasingly tired as pony after pony took her turn to change. Merriweather stayed stationed next to the brightly-colored unicorn, apparently finding it necessary to give instructions each time - and comment on each passing pony's regained looks. Everyone seemed to go by in a blur, and before Rose knew it, Fizzy was standing next to her with a horn on her head and sparkling eyes. Not for the first time, Rose felt very jealous.

That is, until the last pony left the water and she heard Merriweather call in her direction, "Ok, Rose, your turn!"

"Huh?", the filly choked out.

Moondancer, now a glorious white unicorn, stepped in for her. "Merriweather, we really don't know if that will even work."

"It's worth a try," the mare insisted, waving a hoof at Rose in another cue to get in the water. "Besides, she might need a disguise sometime." She glanced over at Starbeam and Lou. "Them too."

"We'll pass," Star said flatly, much to the frustration of her eager son. For some reason, she seemed almost annoyed at the suggestion.

"Fine, fine," Merriweather said breezily as she flapped a hoof at them, "But Rose doesn't mind."

She really _didn't _mind, so she nodded when Moondancer shot her a skeptical look. Finally, the older unicorn sighed and nodded in return. "All right, Merriweather, tell her what to do." With that she started up the hill, and a cluster of ponies followed. With a twinge of excitement, Rose guessed that she was going to start work on the portal.

"You heard her Rose, get over here!", Merri called out shrilly.

Rose gave a nervous smile, and started over.

* * *

((A/N: Ok, so I don't feel really happy with the end of this chapter for some reason. Or the chapter much, since it's kinda hard to write out all the dialogue for multiple characters without feeling I'm reusing small phrases. Anyway, it was necessary, and gave some clues, if you watch closely. 

I actually didn't get to put the part I was looking forward to in this chapter, but only because it comes immediately after this, and I wanted a break. This chapter felt longer, and I wanted to get it up.

And if you're watching to solve some little mysteries, I'll give you a tip: watch Star Beam in this chapter. She's not in it much, but there's something up with her. Oh, and for major plot point, follow Fizzy. I've dropped some stuff in thanks to her.

Keep reading, and review!))


	14. Welcome to Dream Valley

((A/N: Yay, we're almost to Dream Valley!

Disclaimer: I'm sick of writing these, ugh. I don't own the rights to My Little Pony.))

* * *

"Now, Rose, this is Mimic's power - Color Rinse. Thanks to our own darlin' little Rainbow Waterfall, we can change our looks to fit in places. So far, Dream Valley ponies only have two looks: the one for Dream Valley, and the one for Ponyville." Merriweather paced in front of her, obviously feeling very important. "Now a pony can't choose how she looks in either place, so as for me, I was just incredibly lucky." She paused to pat her hair. "You're just gonna step into the water, and make sure the it's still glowin'. If it is, you take a breath, close your eyes if you want, and swim _all the way _under the waterfall. If it works, it could change your symbols, body, eyes, and maybe if you're lucky, it'll even change your hair." 

Rose frowned. "What's wrong with my h-"

"No time," Merri said abruptly. "Moondancer's probably almost ready with the portal thing, so we should get going." When Rose still hesitated she clapped her hooves impatiently. "Chop-chop!"

Rose clumsily waded into the rainbow water. She was excited, but still nervous. All the ponies but Merriweather, Mimic and herself had gone up the hill to watch Moondancer work, so she despite Merri's piercing voice, the night air was unnaturally still. This only served to accentuate the crash of the tons of water several feet away. The gentle glow from Mimic's magic on the falls was the only source of light other than the stars, and Rose shivered when the ripples from the falling water reached her legs. On top of everything else, the filly was also worried it might not even work. After seeing everyone else's incredible transformations, Rose found herself desperate for even the mere color change she might get.

She looked shyly up at Merri, who was frowning at her and swishing her tail with clear impatience. The filly chose to shift her gaze to the more pleasant Mimic, who simply looked tired but encouraging. It was obviously a strain to keep her magic going on the waterfall for this amount of time, and it struck Rose that she should be grateful for even getting a try at this. It would be downright rude to force the unicorn to wait.

Rose decided to use the strategy she'd used while jumping out the window, and tried not to let herself think. She simply threw her body forward into the rushing water and closed her eyes.

The filly felt the magic running through the waterfall tingling around her, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the force of the water was not uncomfortable at all. The experience might have even been nice had she not forgotten to take a breath in the excitement. She was unsure of how long she was supposed to stay under for, but didn't have much choice - she needed to breathe, after all.

Rose came up sputtering, which she found slightly embarassing after the other ponies' graceful changes. "You forgot to breathe first," Merriweather pointed out, as though Rose hadn't noticed. Seeing the sour look from the filly she smiled sweetly and added, "But not bad for a first try."

"Not bad," Mimic repeated, nodding.

The filly continued to frown. They both seemed to be trying to be nice, and she realized it must have been because nothing had happened - they didn't want her to be too upset.

However, Merriweather stepped down from her station next to the falls and to the water's edge, saying, "Oh, don't look all down in the dumps! Don't ya even want to take a look at yourself?"

Rose dearly wished they would just tell her if anything had happened. Feeling almost physically ill, she glanced cautiously down at the reflective rainbow waters.

She had to do a double take. Her reflection barely looked like her reflection at all anymore. She couldn't make out colors in the water, so she decided the rest of the image must also be off, and settled for twisting around and looking at her back. Sure enough, she found a pair of delicately-perched purple wings. "A-a-are those... I...oh..."

She looked up at the two mares to find them both smiling expectantly at her. Merri helpfully reached into her purse and held out a small mirror. Rose realized she should have asked for one sooner - naturally, the mare had one.

The filly hurried out of the water to take it, expecting to feel heavier. Surprisingly, the wings didn't seem to add any weight at all. The mirror showed her a wide-eyed stranger with a purple coat to match the wings. She gazed back at her tail and flicked the damp strands of blue, pink and orange, almost as though checking to make sure it was really attached to her. The only indication that she was really still Rose Blossom were the white-tipped hooves. Now, however, she had white-tipped ears and wing feathers - _feathers!_ - to match.

"Not bad," Mimic repeated with a smile.

Merriweather seemed to have held in her enthusiasm so far, but now she burst out with, "Come on Rose, let's go tell _everyone_!" She gave a loud, unladylike laugh. "HA! And Moondancer didn't believe me when I said it'd work!" As if being dragged down the hill hadn't been enough for her poor ankle, Rose now found herself being dragged back up. It occured to her in the midst of this that she could ease the tension on her legs by flying, but just as quickly she remembered that she didn't know how.

Once back in the group of ponies, Merriweather seemed to decide that the stumbling filly was taking too long, and went on to tell Moondancer the news without her visual aid. Rose took the opportunity to stand still and let out a sigh, at which point she noticed Starbeam standing near by. "Oh, Starbeam!" She couldn't contain her excitement, and rushed up to the mare. "Look, it actually worked! I mean, I thought my colors might change at the most, but look! I'm...I'm a _pegasus_!"

"Wonderful," Starbeam said in a tone that suggested it was not really very wonderful at all. "Now you'll _really_ fit in in Dream Valley. Next thing you know, you'll be wanting to live there." The mare disappeared into the crowd, still frowning, leaving the baffled filly behind. Rose had at least hoped for a more enthusiastic response from Lou, but he was still pouting over not getting to take a swim under the falls himself, and snorted at her before trotting proudly after his mother.

Fizzy managed to brighten her mood as she bounded over, eyes sparkling so brightly with excitement that they reminded Rose of fireworks. The filly felt guilty as for a fleeting second she marked the twinkle-eye as her 'replacement Lou'. "Neat, Merriweather said you were a pegasus, and I had to come look! Hey, everyone, look!"

At the last shout, several ponies turned to stare at Rose, who could have done without the attention. Thankfully, they turned back to face in the direction of the cliff's drop-off as the ponies closest to Moondancer shuffled their hooves in impatience.

"Alright," Moondancer's tired voice called out, "Please form a single-file line in an orderly fashion."

While the gathering of ponies shifted into something that almost resembled a line, Rose thought it was more of a slow motion stampede than an orderly movement. Fizzy was the first toshove her way forward, giggling loudly.Due to her less-than-agressive nature,Rose ended upin the very back. More awkward still, Starbeam and Lou were right in front of her. Starbeam either regretted her earlier comment and was embarassed or was still angry for some unknown reason, because she didn't acknowledge the filly's presence, and they shuffled forward with the group in silence. Rose was eerily reminded of when they had met earlier that night.

"You know, maybe Lou and I can just lay low here instead...it's not really necessary to..." Rose glanced up when she heard Starbeam's voice, and noticed with a jolt that she was next in line - she was the only one left on the cliff with Moondancer, Starbeam and her foal. The two remaining mares were now having a hushed conversation, and though they didn't look over at Rose to ensure their privacy, it was clear she was not supposed to be listening.

Naturally, her curiosity caused her to strain her ears in their direction anyway.

"Come now, Starbeam... He would want-"

"Don't you dare even finish that sentence," Starbeam snapped, her voice low and fierce.

All fell silent and Moondancer watched the blue mare, not angry, but simply waiting to see what she would do. Starbeam snatched up Lou under one front hoof, and Rose was personally expecting her to march away. Instead, with the same defiant glare, she calmly stepped off the cliff.

Rose knew of the portal at the bottom and wasn't expecting a loud crash, but had expected some sort of noise to signify that a pony had gone through to Dream Valley...a splash at the very least, since the portal itself was made over water. Instead, there was nothing at all, and she found it unnerving.

"Rose," Moondancer spoke softly, sounding more tired than ever, "I'm beginning to get tired. Could you please hurry through?"

"Right," the filly responded with finality, although she didn't budge.

"Rose..."

She stepped forward and peered over the edge of the cliff with the same caution she had used earlier. She had expected the portal to take her breath away, but for a moment she didn't even see it. The only difference from the rest of the water was that, in one small perfect circle of space, the surface of the water was completelysmooth and still. The ripples coming out from its sides made it stand out more, and it looked to Rose more like an oddly-placed window of stained glass than a portal between two worlds.

"Rose?", the unicorn mare tapped her on the shoulder gently, and she gave a small jump.

"Sorry. Right." She swallowed; her throat had suddenly gone dry. "I-I've already jumped out of a window tonight, why not off a cliff? It-it's a small difference really, just 20 feet or so farther to fall." Her voice was shaking and although she was babbling now, she couldn't seem to stop herself.

Moondancer still looked tired, but also sympathetic. "Rose Blossom, are you afraid of heights?"

"I..." She paused to consider, and finished weakly, "didn't think I was..."

The mare smiled at her. "Oh, that's alright, just hold still."

She stared blankly. "W-what?" The next thing she knew there was nothing under her hooves but swift currents of air. She had the momentary dizzy thought that the waterfall had stopped moving, but then realized that she was simply speeding along next to the water current.

When she hit solid ground again it didn't hurt, but she lost her footing and tumbled a few feet.She was lying in soft, warm grass, andit seemed to be the same time of night as it had been when she was still on the cliff.It took a few seconds to be able totell up from down again, but she managed to lift herself to her feet before too long. Moondancer dropped out of the upper branches of an apple tree next to her and landed gracefully on all four hooves, casually tossing her head to get her forelock into place. "Sorry, dear. Sometimes it takes a little push." With a small smile she swept a hoof around and added, "Oh, and by the way - welcome to Dream Valley."

* * *

((A/N: Please comment, mainly on what you think of the characters. When things get more serious Moondancer becomes a sort of no-nonsense leader, and I felt weird writing her as less than perfect now, after the serene way I tried to portray her when she was introduced. Also, Starbeam's cranky, not so calm and collected. It just gets tricky.

I hope I'm not making you hate anyone...except the characters you should hate, hehe. Just tell me what you think of them all, though! It's good to know.

In other words, review review review!))


	15. To the Castle

((A/N: Thanks, Crescent! As for the portal, I usually try to be unique by taking my first idea and doing the opposite. I wanted it to be big and shiny and swirly and colorful - then I realized that they were like that all the time, hehe. I'm glad you still like the characters, too!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hasbro or My Little Pony, but I _do_ own Rose's new pony design!))

* * *

Rose whipped her head in both directions, taking in as much of her surroundings as she could in the darkness. "Where did I come from?" 

"Ponyland!", Fizzy piped up helpfully, trotting out of the group nearby. Seeing Rose and Moondancer through safely, the ponies started walking in what the filly assumed was the direction of the castle.

She nodded patiently, not wanting to discourage the well-meaning Fizzy. "Oh, yeah... But I mean, where did the portal let me out?"

Fizzy gestured uninterestedly at the apple tree. "Somewhere up there."

Rose squinted up into the leaves and turned to the other filly doubtfully. "I don't see anything."

"Silly!" Fizzy broke into giggles, and Rose flicked her ears back. She knew the twinkle-eye meant well, but it was becoming more difficult to be patient. Giving a few scattered giggles as she took her time calming down, Fizzy finally explained, "Moondancer's portals only go in one direction, so of _course_ you can't see it from this side!" She gave a few more small laughs, and Rose couldn't help but think to herself again about how it really wasn't that funny. "Now come _on_, we're falling behind! I want to go to Dream Castle, I'm _tired_!" With that, the green unicorn completely contradicted what she had just said and moved to the front of the group at an all-out sprint.

Rose didn't even try to keep up, and just focused on staying close enough to the others to not get lost. The only ponies she saw in the group as close acquaintances were Lou(jealous of her new pegasus form), Starbeam(inexplicably upset with her), Moondancer(acting strangely and very stressed), and Fizzy(moving at a much faster pace). Her options weren't very good. _I guess I'm on my own. _The filly tried not to feel bad - after all, she _was_ in Dream Valley - but despite being somewhat of a social outcast, she had at least always had Sunny for company. She really didn't like to feel all alone.

Sighing and focusing on the swishing tail of Mimic ahead of her(the bright colors made it stand out the most in the dark), she was surprised to see a pony actually facing in her direction. It took her a few seconds to take in the pink mare's facial features and build before she placed her as Cotton Candy.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hi."

There was an awkward pause, and Candy seemed to have to force out, "I didn't really get to say it earlier, but I really am sorry. Really. It's just, Moondancer always tells us how it's really important not to tell anyone about this place, because for all we know Hasbro could actually be really dangerous." The mare was managing to keep her speech slow, but Rose suspected she was uncomfortable because she had never before heard anyone say 'really' so many times in so few sentences.

"Um, oh, it's ok." Another spell of silence followed.

"So..." Candy's eyes darted around, searching for a new conversation topic. "Pegasus, huh?"

With the travel through the portal, Rose didn't immediately register what she meant. "Peg... Oh! Right." She fluttered her wings in excitement, having almost forgotten they were there. "It's so great. I just never expected it," she gushed, forgetting to feel uneasy around Cotton Candy.

"Hm." What conversation the mare could have carried on from there seemed to have died, as she frowned to herself. "Yeah, I never really like the whole thing before we come here."

The filly was startled by this, and looked at her wide-eyed for an explanation.

Candy continued to frown to herself, but caught sight of Rose's stare before too long. "It's just that..." She sighed. "Everyone else can look forward to getting their wings, or horns, or big sparkle eyes, or even more symbols. And what do I get? More pink, less color. It's not the most thrilling thing ever." Her frown deepened into a bitter scowl, and Rose couldn't think of any sort of response. Seeing her discomfort, the mare attempted a smile. "Oh, but you know, this really was a pretty neat place to live. I should be grateful. And if I could, I would share it with everyone and let them all enjoy it equally, because I don't want to be selfish or anything, really. You get that, right?"

At Candy's hopeful smile, the filly nodded and said, "Yes. Right, of course I do." She hoped this would also come across as truly accepting the apology.

The point seemed to have reached the pink earth pony, because her mood lightened considerably. "Great, I was hoping you would, kiddo." She ruffled Rose's forelock in a friendly gesture and lengthened her stride to catch up to the group again, calling over her shoulder, "See you at the castle!"

* * *

Starbeam wasn't too pleased with her overall situation, and had ended up feeling the need to take it out on Moondancer. Still, she was insistent in keeping up with her. The unicorn seemed to know a little too much. Trusting Lou to not listen to a word she said(and glad of it for once), she strode along next to Moondancer. The other mare was leading the way, and so they were a small distance ahead of the others, and she decided that it would just have to do for privacy. 

"How-" Her voice came out a little too harshly, and she broke off to take a breath and quiet down. "How...do you know about him?"

Moondancer kept walking, and Starbeam was beginning to wonder if she'd even heard her when she answered, "He's been worried about you, and I was asked to keep an eye on you. Naturally I requested to know the story." Even as she spoke the white unicorn kept focused on the road ahead, and Star realized that she was trying not to draw the attention of the other ponies to the conversation. She couldn't help but appreciate this, but flared up again after taking in what she'd been told.

"You've been spying on me?"

"Keeping an eye on you," Moondancer repeated calmly.

Starbeam decided to give up on that particular arguement, and settled for asking questions, as long as she was getting answers to them. "Where is he?"

"You'll see him."

"That isn't really an answer."

The corner of Moondancer's mouth that she could see lifted up into a small smile. "That's because you _should_ see him."

Star sighed, but wasn't able to deny that she had been planning on avoiding an uncomfortable situation, if at all possible. She breathed out heavily, her forelock flipping up and landing in her eyes. Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up to find that a large structure stood proudly in front of them. They had just come over the top of a slight hill, and she could see now that the castle sat comfortably in what must have been the literal 'Dream Valley'.

Several ponies behind her cheered and ran forward with renewed energy, and if she had wanted to say anything at all to Moondancer, her chance was gone. Grabbing Lou's hoof so she wouldn't chance losing him in the crowd, she shuffled along behind. At least for the time being, she could get a good rest - it had been a very long day.

* * *

((A/N: This chapter didn't get as far as I wanted because I threw in some character development. Which is good, really. Pay close attention, especially in the places where you wouldn't think you should, hehe.

Review review review!))


	16. Majesty

((A/N: Omg, I changed the name! I just couldn't stand the old one at all. I personally think this new title suits the story much better, but I'll see how it works. I hope I didn't terribly confuse anyone.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Hasbro pony designs, names or locations.))

* * *

Rose was awed by the appearance of the castle the whole walk down into the valley, and was no less impressed as they stepped across the drawbridge several minutes later. She remembered the journal she had read, telling of the remains of a similar structure. The filly was now reluctant to admit that at least _some_ of the stories she had always believed in were not entirely correct, but was still very pleased that the wonderful castle she was now standing in had not been demolished by the after-effects of Smooze. 

The entry hall was just as pleasing to the eye as the outside view, and Rose was glad that although no one had heard from Dream Valley in years, it still seemed to operate like a bustling, everyday kingdom. For the first time that night she didn't resent having an injured hoof - in fact, she didn't even notice. Now she was more than pleased taking her time, strolling through the marvelously-decorated halls of the castle. She was determined to look in all directions and take in everything around her.

At first the filly didn't even notice that Fizzy had once again decided to hang back to speak with her. "Rose, Rose, Rose, guess what?" Not waiting for Rose to ask herself, the unicorn went on, "Sweet Stuff said that Wing Song said that Merriweather said that Majesty wants to see us before we go to our rooms!"

Rose was at a momentary loss for words. "You mean..._the _Majesty?" Fizzy nodded eagerly in response. The filly didn't quite trust Fizzy's resources, but truly wanted to take her word for it.

Sure enough, the group stopped at a large doorway, and Moondancer caught their attention with the wave of a hoof. "Alright everyone, our rooms are right through the hall to our right, but before we rest up, we're going to make a short stop in the throne room. Now, please stay calm and civilized, and voices down."

The large doors swung open and Rose, jittery with excitement, followed the group inside.

Having unfortunately ended up with a spot in the back, Rose could only get a glimpse of blue hair and white horn as Majesty entered the room. The filly was still trying to see around Butterscotch when Moondancer began to speak again. "Now, first things first - thank you so much for inviting us into your home, King Majesty."

The conversation didn't get any further because at that moment, the large doors they had come through moments before could be heard swinging open again. Rose turned just in time to glimpse the end of Starbeam's tail flicking out of sight before they shut with a loud _bang_ again.

_What is she-?_ Before the thought could finish, the filly's mind froze, then replayed what Moondancer had just said. _Wait... _King _Majesty?_

* * *

"_King _Majesty?" Starbeam muttered her rant aloud as she marched angrily down the halls with Lou held by one foreleg. She turned down the hallway Moondancer had said would lead to the guest rooms, and yanked open the first door she saw. Luckily for her, it was currently unoccupied. "What is Dream Valley even _coming _to? Honestly, do they have _any_ pride in their leaders anymore?" 

"Mom, what's wrong?" Lou squirmed out of his mother's grasp and stared up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

The mare frowned, not even sure where to begin. She settled for a painfully forced smile and, "Nothing, sweetie."

There was a knock at the door, and she froze. _Please don't be..._

"Starbeam? If you're in there, it's Rose." A pause. "No one's followed me yet."

Star cautiously moved to the door and opened it a crack. When she was satisfied that the filly was telling the truth, she opened it all the way and gestured her inside, carefully closing and locking the door afterward.

"What's wrong?", Rose asked, with a sweet, confused expression to rival Lou's.

"Nothing," the mare repeated, worrying that she got worse at lying every time she tried it.

To break the short silence that settled over them, Rose started up again awkwardly, "You know, I feel terrible about it now, but I always thought that the ruler of Dream Valley was _Queen _Majesty."

Star couldn't help but give a half-hearted laugh. "You still know more than me. I had no clue there was any royal Majesty at all. Given what the name should imply..." She waved a hoof rather than bother finishing her statement, then pressed the hoof to her forehead. She felt a big headache coming on.

"What's wrong?", she heard Rose ask again next to her.

Fed up with the question in general, she didn't feel even capable of lying anymore. "I knew Majesty," she confessed. "He didn't even change his name, but I _still _thought he was just a normal Ponyvillian. A king...I never would have thought..." Feeling completely miserable, she glanced at the poor filly, who was struggling to keep up, and took a deep breath. "Majesty is...he's...he's Lou's father."

* * *

((A/N: Short, but bwahaha! I hope you were at least a bit surprised! That solves some of what Star had to contribute to the story. There's still much to be said though. I think next chapter would either be a good place for another Sunny/Waterfire chapter, or a direct continuation again. Give any input you may have on the matter. 

But yay, I've been dying to tell you all that little tidbit. Review!))


	17. Family Reunion

((A/N: Ok, I'm back! Unfortunately school starts soon, so updates will slow down. Enjoy this new chapter for the time being!

Disclaimer: Hasbro owns names, colors, and places...but I own New Rose, personalities, and of course some unique ideas on the genders of Hasbro's ponies.))

* * *

"Rose, snap out of it. Say something." 

The filly shook her head and looked up at Starbeam, who through her panic had managed to look amused at her behavior. Rose dropped heavily into a squishy armchair next to where Starbeam had seated herself, then took the opportunity to jolt from stunned silence to an avalanche of questions. "What do you mean? Are you sure? How did this happen? Are _you _from Dream Valley too? Does this make Lou a prince?"

The colt had been bouncing on the bed near the two when his ears pricked up at his name. "Huh? What did I do?"

"Nothing," Star said impatiently. "Now both of you, let's keep the noise level down. Oh, why did I have to go through the very first door? Someone's bound to find us soon..."

Rose had seen the stir in the throne room before she had bolted after Starbeam, and agreed that there most likely would be ponies looking for them some time soon. However, she was having some difficulty caring. The filly's natural curiosity told her that there were more important things at the moment. "Ok, I'll be quiet. But...how-?"

The blue mare waved a hoof in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll make this fast. I met Majesty in the Cotton Candy Cafe, and we talked. He somehow avoided the topic that he was from Dream Valley...or a king...so I made the worst move of my life and decided I liked him. I went out with him for a bit, and that stretched out to end up being around a year and a half. Then a few weeks before Lou was born, he told me he had to leave. No warning, he just came to say goodbye." Starbeam frowned at the memories. "That had to be the worst year of my life...you know, the council fell apart right around then. I'd say Lou was my big reward for making it through all that, but...you know Lou." She gave a small laugh and patted her son's forelock.

The blue colt himself had since given up jumping on the bed and curled up. He didn't seem to be asleep just yet as his ears were twitching back and forth, but he was definitely on his way. With him settled down the room took on a soothing silence, so that Rose and Starbeam both gave startled gasps when frenzied voices rushed into the hall.

"I locked it," Starbeam said mainly to herself, but voices soon faded away as they traveled through the castle, and she sighed.

"Are they gone?", Rose asked hesitantly.

She was afraid she had jinxed it, because at that very moment there was the rattle of the room's door unlocking, and it promptly swung open to reveal a shining white unicorn with blue hair. Rose felt the need to bow, but was frozen in place. Starbeam didn't appear to share her problem - she leapt up immediately and strode over to meet the stallion.

"Hi," Majesty said awkwardly as Star stared him down, gesturing to a key held in one hoof. "Sorry."

Starbeam slapped him. Hard, from the sound of it. "'Sorry'?"

Majesty didn't seem too intimidated by her attack. "Yes. I'm...I'm very sorry."

The mare gave a loud, exasperated sigh, then swished over to her seat and threw herself into it. Rolling her eyes, she turned away from Majesty. "Of course. Very official. Am I going to get that in writing?"

"Star-"

"You're going to wake Lou!", Starbeam interrupted him fiercely, speaking much more loudly than the stallion himself had been. Moving to the bed and snatching up her groggy son like a large purse, she marched out of the room. Majesty stepped to the side to let her through the doorway, but watched her sadly as she left.

Rose blushed when he turned his gaze to her. The filly felt as though she had just eavesdropped on a private conversation.

"Oh," the king said apologetically as if he had only just noticed her, "I'm so sorry, you're hurt."

This had been the last thing she would have expected him to say, and she stared at him quizzically. "What?"

"Your leg."

Rose didn't think she had even walked on it in front of him, so he couldn't have seen her limping on it. "How did you-"

Majesty hurried over to her and touched her injured ankle. His horn lit up for no more than a second, and he stepped back before Rose could even acknowledge what had happened. "Let's see how that feels when you walk on it."

The filly stood up, confused, and gently set her hoof down. She was surprised to find that she couldn't feel any remnants of pain in her formerly-injured leg. "Oh - it feels fine," she answered gratefully, then guessed, "So...that's...your power?"

"Healing," he confirmed simply with a nod. When Rose didn't say anything else he added, "Welcome to Dream Valley. My name is Majesty."

"Oh." Rose blushed again, flustered to be meeting royalty. "I...I know. Sorry, I'm Rose Blossom."

Majesty nodded again and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet any friend of Starbeam's." Rose felt the comment slightly odd after the king's recent interaction with Star, but was at least glad that the mare hadn't made him angry. The stallion glanced at the door, then turned back to her and gestured out into the hall. "And as long as we're on the topic, I really should go find her. You're welcome to stay in this guest room for the night."

"Thank you," Rose called as he left quickly but without looking stressed in any way. The filly remembered how Pinkie Pie was always talked about for her skills at interacting with other ponies, but having met the king of Dream Valley, she didn't see Pinkie as very impressive. She didn't mean to betray Starbeam, but she found herself wishing Majesty luck at finding the mare soon.

* * *

((A/N: Ok, so we met Majesty. That's progress. And I think I like Majesty - he's much more fun to write for than I thought he'd be, with his semi-casual nature. Plus Starbeam, although she's being difficult, is back to her stubborn, pushy self, which is also fun to write for. 

Oh, and something that bugs me: I'm pretty sure a pony isn't supposed to have something that can be referred to as an ankle. I need to brush up on my horse knowledge, but the joint that joins their hoof to the rest of their leg is probably not called that. But oh well, I guess My Little Ponies themselves really just have big stumps that resemble legs. They also eat ice cream and do a lot of other human-type things, so my word choice will hopefully pass in this case.

So how do _you_ like the king of Dream Valley? Or Starbeam? Or things in general right now? Review!))


	18. Catching Up

((A/N: I should respond to individual reviews...

Del Schiz, you really should review more! Yours made me laugh when you were talking about Starbeam! Oh, and you're definitely catching onto some important bits...but I'm trying to be vague. Keep reading!

Crescent, I'm glad you like Majesty! You'll find out more about him and Starbeam soon...but first, I'll go ahead and catch up with Sunny and Waterfire!

Wild Totodile: Yes. (Wow, easy answer, hehe.)

-slaughters the person that posted a chain letter in my comments box-

Disclaimer: My Little Pony - the characters, names, places, and the concept itself - belongs to Hasbro.))

* * *

Sunny lagged behind Waterfire, having lost her enthusiasm as soon as her hooves started aching. She only cheered up when she spotted a steep hill rising in the distance. She felt like a foal on Christmas morning when she put together what the houses were falling away for, and trotted to the front again. "Hey - hey! I know where we are!" She let out a laugh and trotted in place to look behind at him. "Oh, come on, come on! That's the Rainbow Waterfall, isn't it? I haven't been up there in like three years!" 

The falls were a popular sight-seeing location for ponies, and the nursery took the smaller foals out frequently to picnic on the vibrantly-colored grass at the bottom. The older orphans like she and Rose tended to stay behind as they got older, but the site never lost the air or magic it had held for them when they were younger.

Waterfire was frowning at her, and had stopped walking, despite Sunny's signaling him ahead. "But that's...what? A park? I have a job to do, remember?"

Sunny's mouth dropped open and she brought a hoof to her heart. "Oh, Megan, are you telling me you've never been there? Now, that's just tragic. It's great!" She was contemplating how best to drag him over when she had a better idea. "Rose loves it too. It's very relaxing. And, you know, it's usually deserted at night. A great place to get away."

She realized it was obvious, but at least the stallion had started walking. Even as he did so, however, Waterfire said, "You know, I _do_ realize you'd never turn your friend in...but I should check everywhere. Then I can get out of here faster."

"Yay!", Sunny cried, and dashed on ahead, letting him catch up at his own pace. She was at the base of the falls and starting to dip a hoof in when she glanced up and froze. "Hey, Waterfire?", she asked as he heard her catch up to her, "Do you notice anything strange about this place?"

"Like the fact that the entire waterfall is glowing?", he answered in monotone as he came to stand next to her.

"Hm...yep, that'd be it."

They fell silent, before Sunny followed habit and broke it again. "Hey, I double-dog dare you to touch it."

Waterfire eyed her out of the sides of his sunglasses. "You're completely insane."

"That's a no then?" No answer. The filly shrugged and said lightly, "Ok. I will then." With that, she threw herself forward and dove into the water.

Sunny held her breath under the water and opened her eyes. It was odd with the swirling colors around her and made her dizzy, but she found the feeling rather fun. She stayed under the surface and kicked her way over to the falls, let the current shove her toward the edge of the pool, then decided she had better let the stallion know she was still alive. As she surfaced again, the filly hoped she had freaked him out at least a _little_.

From his expression, she really had. She smirked.

Then he kept staring at her with the same expression of disbelief, so she walked up out of the cool rainbow water and stood in front of him, staring him down. He didn't seem to get the hint, and she rolled her eyes. "For Megan's sake, I'm fine! Look, I didn't grow gills or anything." Getting annoyed, she shook herself off, hoping to get him wet. A translucent, pearlized blob irritated the corners of her field of vision, and she turned her head.

Finally, Waterfire spoke. "No...you grew wings."

"I noticed," she said quietly as she twisted her neck around further. It wasn't easy, but she had to get a good look.

"Took you long enough." Waterfire seemed to have gotten back to normal.

Sunny would've tried for a witty comeback, but she was too busy staring at her back. "I...am one _freaky-_looking pegasus," she said at last. "I mean, look: no feathers or...or even skin, I guess. Hey, cool. I'm like a bug." She fluttered the wings experimentally, and speckles of what looked like glitter scattered through the air below them, fading away before they hit the ground.

"Actually, I think the _official_ term is 'flutter pony', but in your case I would say 'bug' works too."

"Oh, shut up...hey, I think I've heard about flutter ponies..." She scrunched up her nose in concentration. "Yeah, hey! I think they were in one of those stories Rosie's freakishly obsessed with..." Her grin widened and she added with a gasp, "Whoa, she was right! Go Rosie!" She flicked one wing straight up into the air in a victorious pose.

"Yes. _Yay_. First 'Rosie' decides to run away make my job very difficult, and now I get to figure out how to hide a living, breathing flutter pony from the citizens of Ponyville before city-wide panic breaks out. This is really a _great_ day for me."

Sunny frowned and considered feeling sympathetic, but managed to distract herself first. "I'm gonna go fly now!", she cried out all in a rush before wheeling around on her hind legs and sprinting up the steep hill next to the falls. At the top she stood, breathing deeply, and closed her eyes to feel the wind in her hair. The filly thought lazily that the gesture was a little uncharacteristic of her, then decided that it must be because she kept her hair fairly short. Her eyes snapped open. "My hair's longer!"

Waterfire caught up in time to overhear her talking to herself. "What was that?"

"I said I have supermodel hair!" She tossed her head to demonstrate and a wave of curly, floor-length mane rippled against her neck. "Suh-weet! I'm like a brush and grow!"

The stallion nodded, and she wondered why he wasn't hitting her with some sort of sarcastic insult when she spotted his eyes shifting toward the ledge. "Oh yeah. Flying", she remembered, and strutted over to perch her hooves on the side of the cliff.

"Um, yeah, about that," she heard him say, "That's really considerate of you, but you don't have to break your neck just to make my job easier." When Sunny raised an eyebrow at him he added, "...and that's really all that could possibly come of you recklessly throwing yourself a good fifty feet off a hilltop."

"Hm...well, I'll consider that."

His sunglasses slid down his nose and she saw him blink in surprise before tossing his head to get them back in place. "Really? Why?"

"Because", she said slowly, looking down at the water, "the pool's looking really freaky right now."

Waterfire joined her at the edge and stared with her at the glassy portal on the water's surface. "This is the most work I've had in my entire career", he said after a thoughtful pause.

An evil grin broke out on Sunny's face. "Hey, I double-dog dare you to..." The filly shook her head and shoved the stallion off with one wing, leaping after him. "Oh, never mind."

* * *

((Sunny's a flutter! Like it? Review!)) 


	19. Sundae

((A/N: I'm back, just when you least expect it!

Dark Crystalline, yay for fast reviewing! And Sunny could push him off with one flutterwing because...um...she really put her back into it? Haha, well hey, the real things can't have been as fragile as the toys, right? And they've got magic in them, too.

Del Schiz, I'm glad you like Sunny and Waterfire! I like writing them, personally, but I often wonder if character interactions I think are "fun" can irritate my readers. I think I might get carried away on occasion. I'm really really glad the story makes you think, and nice to see you wondering aloud!

;-), (interesting name there) Another Sunny/Waterfire fan! That's cool. I guess I won't worry about keeping their scenes few and far between anymore, if people really do like them.

And now...on with the story! I hope y'all haven't forgotten what's going on with this long delay!))

* * *

Rose was enjoying the restored health in her hoof and wondering what was going on between Star and Majesty when the blue mare herself rushed in the door. Rose gave a small jump at the sudden entrance, then rushed to meet Star. "Starbeam-!" 

The mare cut her off with the simple request, "Watch Lou?", spoken all in a rush. As she said it, she thrust the sleepy foal into Rose's hooves.

Rose instinctively held onto Lou so he wouldn't fall, and was stuttering out, "I-I-", when Starbeam loosened her hold and left her without a choice.

"Thanks, Rose." With that the mare rushed to the doorway. Before leaving, though, she paused and tossed over her shoulder, "I have to talk with Majesty, it's just for an hour or two." She disappeared from sight for a few seconds, then popped her head back in the room looking slightly guilty. "He's asleep, so it'll be a piece of cake. Really."

A few silent seconds went by as Rose stared down in bewilderment at the little blue foal. He did look peaceful asleep...maybe Starbeam was right. As soon as she had managed the thought, however, his eyes snapped open. "Mom's gone?", Lou asked, leaping to his hooves. "Sweet, late bedtime! Let's get ice cream!"

Rose frowned. "Um, gee, Lou, I don't think we should. Your mom put me in charge of you, and..."

Lou eyed her skeptically, and Rose was surprised to find that such a small creature could purposely make her so uncomfortable. "You're not a _real _babysitter, are you?", he asked.

"Well, no..."

Lou grinned at her, but in a way that made her even more uncomfortable. He looked devilish. "I didn't think so," he said brightly, then requested again in a way that reminded Rose of Starbeam, "Ice cream?"

Rose glanced down at him with what she hoped with a stern expression, but Lou in return raised one eyebrow in a smirk he seemed to have mastered well in his short lifetime. Defeated, the filly finally said, "Um...oh, ok, sure. But don't tell your mother, ok?" Beaming, Lou made the gesture of crossing his heart with a front hoof, then silently hurried out of the room ahead of her.

"Lou...?," she called out hesitantly. The little creature certainly moved fast, and Rose had no idea how to make her way to the kitchen. She didn't think Lou would either, but realized that the foal wouldn't exactly stop to think about that. She glanced in both directions, and decided to start with a left turn, only because that was the end of the castle she'd come from in the first place, and she thought she might not be as likely to get lost.

Making her first turn around a corner, Rose almost ran right into a blue pegasus stallion. "Oh, sorry!," she started, realizing that with a rustle of wings he managed to avoid getting hit with such speed it was almost disconcerting.

"That's alright," he answered flatly. Then he took a second glance at her and raised an eyebrow and said slowly, with a hint of a questioning tone, "Hello...?"

Rose supposed he must have been asking for her name, but she really didn't have time for any of that. "I'm looking for a foal. Could you help?"

"Hm," the stallion paused to consider, then fixed her with the same curious gaze even as he said, "No."

"Um..." Rose floundered for her next course of action even as Cotton Candy rounded the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the familiar mare, and felt only slightly guilty as she turned to Candy and effectively ended her conversation with the stallion. "Candy, quick - I was watching Lou, but he headed off to the kitchen. Are you busy? Because I really don't know where that would be."

"Oh sure, no prob. Come on." The mare turned to lead the way, but paused long enough to acknowledge the pegasus with a bob of her head and a brief, "'Lo."

The stallion only nodded back with another low hum of consideration.

Then Rose scurried off after, seeing that the other mare had already gone on her way. Rose couldn't help but be a little smug to discover that she _had_ been headed in the right direction after all. Once the two were a safe distance away, Candy heaved a sigh and turned back to Rose, her expression noticeably more relaxed. "Sheesh, what a jerk, huh?"

"Y-"

"Well anyway, he's not from around here, so don't get a bad impression with the locals." She snorted, tossing her mane again, and Rose heard her mutter what sounded a lot like, "Pegasus snobs." Reverting back to her conversational tone, she said, "Well, don't worry about him, anyway. Let's find Lou!"

Candy seemed fairly familiar with the castle(or at least the kitchen), because in no time at all they were walking through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. Lou was already safely seated at the counter with his nose in a bowl of ice cream, and had seemingly not had any difficulty making his way to the snacks. She looked around to make sure neither of his parents were present to see how lacking she was in discipline over their son, and instead laid eyes on an older mare, standing near the refridgerator as she watched Lou fondly out of two blue jewels.

"Oh, isn't he _sweet_?," she gushed. "I hope he'll be staying with us from now on, it would only make sense...now, what can I get for you two?"

"Just carrots, I think," Candy answered casually as she took a seat across from Lou at the kitchen counter. "Gingerbread, Rose. Rose, Gingerbread." The pink mare swept a hoof between them, then elaborated for Rose's sake, "Ginger here cooks the meals for everyone in the castle. She's brilliant."

Ginger laughed lightly, waving a hoof dismissively. "Two orders of carrots then?"

Rose glanced at Lou, who was just finishing off his sundae. "Um, actually I think we need to hurry back before we get caught..."

"Oh...well you really must be hungry, dear! I'll just have someone wink it up to your room later!"

Cotton Candy shifted in her seat, then said, "Ginger, I really wish you could've come to Ponyville with me. You'd be great around the Cafe."

The white mare spoke as she trotted around the kitchen with a bundle of carrots. Once they were settled on a cutting board, she spoke as she chopped, "Well I really couldn't move, with so many needy ponies here!"

"Hm...maybe someday." Something about the subject seemed to be an old sore spot with Candy.

Rose, feeling uncomfortable at the change in atmosphere, took advantage of the momentary silence to clear her throat and reach for Lou. "Well, we'd better be going. Thank you, Gingerbread."

"Oh, just Ginger, dear!"

"I'll bring your food up for you, Rose," Candy insisted as the filly was leaving with Lou at her side.

Rose nodded, anxious to leave when she was Ginger reaching for something that looked suspiciously like a cookie jar. The last thing she needed was for Lou to get more sweets into him before bedtime. "Thanks. Bye!" Then she hurried the colt away.

* * *

"How does Lou like it here?" 

"Majesty, _don't_." Starbeam paced around the king's sitting room, refusing to look directly at him. He had managed to herd her into the room to talk, but she wasn't about to make it a comfortable experience for either one of them.

"What?", the stallion attempted innocently.

Now she couldn't help but shoot him a glare. "We're _leaving_. Tomorrow, if at all possible."

"Well, _that _wouldn't work out. It isn't safe." The unicorn's forehead was creased to match his deep frown, and Star finally realized that his concern wasn't only for Lou and herself.

After a moment of wrestling with herself, the mare asked, "...What's wrong?"

"Sit down."

"No."

Majesty let out a breath. "Ok... Well, I assume that Moondancer has filled you in on most the situation - at least, the situation as we knew it the last time she was here. Until recently, we thought that Hasbro had moved on, and that their only hopes were to leave us here to be forgotten." He sighed again. "Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the plan. There have been unfamiliar ponies wandering the edges of Dream Valley, and we're worried that they want the land back - most likely so that they can move their new experiments in."

"Don't call us that," Star muttered.

Majesty looked a bit startled at this reaction, and began hastily, "I'm s-"

"So how bad is it?," she interrupted, not interested in any apologies he had to offer.

"Well we haven't run into any new faces this close to Dream Castle, but we're all very worried right now because we haven't had any word from the flutter ponies in a while. Flutter Valley itself seems to be empty, but then again, the flutters were always known to migrate..."

"But...ponies just don't _disappear_. Sure, Hasbro seems pretty annoying, but I doubt they would really hurt anyone." Starbeam found herself drawn into the situation, and momentarily forgot to act irritable.

"Well, it's hard to be certain." Majesty paused to think, then looked more closely at Starbeam again. "You look tired," he commented. He was beaming as he said it, though, and Star suspected that making an observation was simply meant to serve as his excuse for staring at her.

The mare tossed her mane and decided that the time had come for her to take a seat. She moved across the room and flopped into a high-backed chair, facing away from him. "Yeah. Lou was already falling asleep when I left him with Rose."

"Rose," Majesty repeated, circling the room so that she came into his line of sight again. "What's her story?"

"Oh, her? She...well, she doesn't really have a story. But she loves this place. I mean, she really _loves_ it. She doesn't know when to keep quiet, but she's a nice kid." Thinking she knew know where his question had come from, she added firmly, "I trust her."

The unicorn looked a little surprised at the last part, and frowned at her, although it was a light one and he didn't look overly concerned. "Oh yes, of course. Even so, we might want to go get our- ...We should go get Lou, hm?"

Starbeam hadn't been fooled - she frowned at what he had clearly been about to say, and narrowed her eyes in a way that she hoped communicated that he was right to correct the statement. "Right. Let's go."

* * *

((A/N: Just a slightly interesting fun fact: the chapter was originally going to end when I wrapped up the bit with Rose, but then I felt super-guilty to throw a short update at you guys after such a long wait. Sorry again, by the way! So yeah, I ended up jumping to what's up with Starbeam and Majesty, and I'm glad I did because I actually had a better time writing it than the rest of the chapter. But what did you guys think? 

Aaaand yeah - now, here's the part where I roll over and beg for reviews!

Note: As of 9-6-07, this chapter has been edited. Fixed some clunky lines and minor typos.))


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